THE 

OF 

©tie  Suffering* 

OP 

J.  STEPHANINI, 

*/ 

(I.  27s<pavivi£,) 

A  NATIVE  OF 

ART  A,  IN  GREECE  : 

INCLUDING 

Accounts  of  the  capture  of  Patras — of  some  of  the  principal  events 
of  the  Greek  Revolution — of  some  of  the  most  conspicuous 
characters  which  have  heen  developed  by  those  events ;  of 
the  manners,  customs,  and  religion  of  the  Albanians,  Turks, 
.Egyptians,  and  Bedouin  Arabs. 


PUBLISHED  WITH  A 


VIEW  TO  ENABLE  HIM  TO   RETURN   TO  HIS  OWN  COUNTRY, 

AND  TO  RELEASE  FROM  SLAVERY  A  LARGE 

AND  SUFFERING  FAMILY. 


NEW  YORK : 

VANDERPOOL  &  COLE,  PRINTERS. 

1829> 


IOAN  STAC* 


Southern  District  of  New  York,  ss, 
BE  IT  REMEMBERED,  That  on  the  28th  day  of  July, 
A.  D.  1829,  in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  the  Independence  of  the 
United  States  of  America,  J.  Stephanini  of  the  said  District,  hath 
deposited  in  this  office  the  title  of  a  Book,  the  right  whereof  he 
claims  as  Proprietor,  in  the  words  following,  to  wit : 

"  The  Personal  Narrative  of  the  Sufferings  of  J.  Stephanini, 
(I.  27s(pocvjvi£,)  a  Native  of  Arta,  in  Greece :  including 
Accounts  of  the  Capture  of  Patras — of  some  of  the  princi- 
pal events  of  the  Greek  Revolution — of  some  of  the  most 
conspicuous  characters  which  have  been  developed  by  those 
events,  of  the  Manners,  Customs,  and  Religion  of  the  Al- 
banians, Turks,  Egyptians,  and  Bedouin  Arabs.  Published 
with  a  view  to  enable  him  to  return  to  his  own  Country,  and 
to  release  from  Slavery  a  Large  and  Suffering  Family." 

In  conformity  to  the  Act  of  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
entitled  "  An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  Learning,  by  secur- 
ing the  copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  authors  and 
proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the  time  therein  mentioned.5' 
And  also  to  an  Act,  entitled  u  An  Act,  supplementary  to  an  Act, 
entitled  an  Act  for  the  encouragemeut  of  Learning,  by  securing 
the  copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  authors  and  pro- 
prietors of  such  copies,  during  the  times  therein  mentioned,  and 
extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of  designing,  engrav- 
ing, and  etching  historical  and  other  prints. 

FRED.  J.  BETTS, 
Clerk  of  the  Southern  District  of  New  Yo.rk, 


Df 


/ 


7 

PREFACE. 

The  following  pages  will  be  found  immethoHical 
in  arrangement,  and  deficient  in  elegance  of  style: 
These  defects,  the  compiler  found  unavoidable. — 
The  want  of  method,  is  to  be  ascribed  to  this :  that 
all  the  facts  which  relate  personally  to  Mr.  Ste- 
phanini,  are  drawn  entirely  from  memory.  It  was, 
therefore,  impossible  that  the  dates,  or  order  of 
events,  should,  in  all  cases,  be  accurately  marked. 
Many  of  the  defects,  in  the  composition,  are  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  imperfect  knowledge  which  Mr.  S. 
has  of  the  English  language,  which  rendered  him 
unwilling  that  the  compiler  should  employ  any 
other  than  the  most  plain  and  familiar  expressions  * 
and,  also,  to  the  circumstantiality  with  which  Mr, 
S.  has,  in  many  places,  insisted  on  describing  minor 
events.  These  causes,  it  will  be  perceived,  must 
tend,  in  some  degree,  to  depress  the  style,  if  not 
the  general  character  of  the  narrative.  It  has. 
however,  a  redeeming  quality.  It  is  true.  In  de- 
tailing the  facts  wherein  Mr.  S.  was  personally  con- 
cerned, he  has  been  scrupulously  guided  by  his 
personal  knowledge.  In  those  wherein  he  cannot 
be  supposed  to  have  participated,  the  most  authen- 
tic sources  of  information  have  been  sought.  In 
the  hope  that  it  may  prove  a  hook  on  which  bene- 
volence may  hang  her  offerings,  it  is  submitted** 
with  all  its  imperfections,  to  the  public. 


troc 


Recommendations  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wainwright, 

and  R.  Sedgwick,  Esq.,  of  New  York  ;   /.  K. 

Kane,  Esq.,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Ely,  Philadelphia ; 

and  T.  S.  Grimke,  Esq.,  Charleston. 

(Copied  from  the  original.) 

Mr.  Stephanini,  a  native  of  Greece,  has  brought  to  me  several 
letters  from  gentlemen  of  high  standing  and  character — he  has  also 
shown  me  testimonials  in  the  highest  degree  favourable ; — from 
these  documents,  confirmed  by  intercourse  with  him  on  several 
occasions,  relating  to  his  designs  and  prospects,  I  have  no  hesita- 
tion in  recommending  him  to  the  notice  of  those  who  may  be  willing 
and  able  to  assist  him  in  redeeming  his  mother  and  sisters  from 
their  cruel  bondage  among  the  Turks. 

JONA.  M.  WAINWRIGHT. 


I  have  had  a  long  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Stephanini,  having 
known  him  during  nearlv  a)l  the  period  of  his  residence  in  this 
country,  and  consider  his  narrative  of  his  personal  misfortunes 
entitled  to  unqualified  confidence. 

R.  SEDGWICK. 


Mr.  Stephanini  has  presented  to  me  letters  from  gentlemen  of 
well  known  character  in  Charleston  and  New  York.  1  have  con- 
versed with  him,  and  have  examin*  d  the  testimonials  with  which 
he  is  furnished  ;  and  I  fully  and  cordially  commend  him  to  the 
sympathy  and  good  offices  of  those  who  have  the  means  and  the 
willingness  to  indulge  a  discriminating  benevolence. 

J.  K.  KANE. 


Mr.  J.  Stephanini,  a  native  Greek,  has  been  introduced  to  me 
by  several  gentlemen,  in  whom  1  have  the  highest  confidence. 
He  has  been  himself  a  captive,  and  now  seeks  to  procure  the  means 
of  redeeming  his  mother  and  sisters  from  the  horrors  of  Turkish 
bandage.  His  object  will  commend  itself  to  every  humane  person  ; 
and  I  feel  happy  to  give  him  this  introduction  to  any  of  my  ac- 
quaintance. 

E.  S.  ELY. 


From  the  interview  which  I  have  had  with  Mr.  Stephanini 
and  from  conversations  with  others,  and  the  examination  of  his 
letters,  I  recommend  him  with  great  pleasure  to  all  who  feel  a 
sympathy  for  his  personal  misfortunes,  and  admiration  for  the  cause 
of  his  gallant  and  afflicted  country. 

THOMAS  S.  GRIMKE. 


CHAPTER  I. 


The  country  which  gave  me  birth,  was 
once  the  most  eminent  and  glorious  in  the 
world.  In  the  annals  of  antiquity  her 
page  is  the  fairest ;  and  it  is  blazoned  with 
characters  that  time  cannot  bedim.  From 
Greece,  as  from  a  central  sun,  emanated 
a  brilliant  light,  which  ilung  abroad  its 
splendour  over  surrounding  regions. 

While  other  nations  were  enveloped  in 
the  gloom  of  ignorance  and  barbarism,  ci- 
vilization and  arts  had  in  that  little  but  il- 
lustrious land  advanced  to  a  state  of  won- 
derful perfection.  Her  own  original  and 
unassisted  genius  early  exhibited  examples 
of  all  that  is  elegant  and  magnificent  in 
art,  of  all  that  is  inspiring  in  poetry  and 
fascinating  in  eloquence,  of  all  that  is  va- 
luable in  ethics  and  legislation,  and  of  all 
that  is  splendid  in  martial  achievement. 
Without  precedent  or  pattern  to  guide  her 
efforts,  she  attained  to  a  height  of  excel- 
lence in  virtue,  in"  arts,  and  in  literature* 
1  * 


6 

which  has  never  been  transcended ;  and 
produced  those  models  in  each  which  man- 
kind, ever  since  that  period,  have  contem- 
plated with  strong  admiration  and  imitated 
with  ardent  zeal. 

The  sun,  after  gaining  his  meridian 
height,  descends  and  sets.  It  is  so  with 
national  glory.  Greece  escaped  not  the 
common  lot  of  nations.  Her  greatness 
declined:  and  at  length  the  sun  of  her 
glory  went  down  in  a  melancholy  and  lurid 
gloom;  and  the  depth  of  her  subsequent 
degradation  has  been  proportioned  to  her 
former  exaltation. 

The  lawless  power  and  resistless  arms  of 
Rome,  were  during  the  consulate  of  Me- 
tellus,  directed  to  her  destruction.  Her 
bravest  sons  were  immolated  on  the  altar  of 
liberty, — but  the  sacrifice  was  ineffectual. 
She  sunk  beneath  the  overwhelming  force 
and  fury  of  the  Roman  legions.  The  rage 
of  the  bloody  Sylla,  and  his  fierce  merce- 
naries, demolished  her  noble  structures, — 
levelled  her  proud  cities, — deluged  her 
plains  with  blood, — and  covered  her  fair 
fields  with  desolation. 

Yet  even  under  the  pressure  of  such 
dreadful    calamities,    and    though    sorely 


galled  by  the  iron  yoke  of  Rome,  the  glory 
of  Greece  was  not  wholly  extinguished. 
Her  light,  though  glimmering  in  the  socket, 
yet  shed  around  its  expiring  beam.  In 
her  subjugation,  her  proud  mistress  paid 
homage  to  her  genius,  by  the  adoption 
of  her  laws  and  her  philosophy,  her  arts 
and  literature.  Her  language  was  chosen 
as  the  vehicle  of  thought  and  sentiment, 
and  her  writings  were  eagerly  studied  as 
the  repositories  of  wisdom  and  knowledge. 
As  a  Roman  province,  Greece  followed 
the  fortunes  of  the  superior  state.  In  the 
miseries  that  attended  and  followed  the 
declension  and  fall  of  that  mighty  em- 
pire, Greece  largely  participated.  When 
that  enormous  fabric  was  overthrown  by 
the  Samsons  of  the  North,  Greece  was 
crushed  beneath  the  ruins.  Her  plains 
were,  for  centuries,  the  theatre  of  the  con- 
flicts,— her  inhabitants  the  prey,  and  her 
territory  the  prize,  of  contending  barbarians. 
At  length,  near  the  close  of  the  fourteenth 
century,  the  Turkish  arms,  conducted  by 
the  skill  and  valour  of  the  famous  Bajazet, 
ravaged  her  territories,  destroyed  every 
remaining  vestige  of  her  ancient  freedom, 
and  completely  blotted  out  her  name  from 
the  list  of  nations, 


8 

More  than  nineteen  hundred  years  hav<- 
jiow  elapsed,  since  the  independence  of 
Greece  expired.  During  that  long  and 
dreary  period,  she  has  borne,  in  succes- 
sion, the  yoke  of  various  conquerors.  But. 
it  is  during  the  four  centuries  since  her 
subjection  to  Ottoman  domination,  that  the 
cup  of  her  calamity  has  been  the  fullest, 
and  her  slavery  and  degradation  the  most 
abject  and  complete. 

In  the  bloody  and  destructive  wars  which 
were  long  carried  on  between  the  Turks 
and  Venetians,  and  in  which  the  possession 
of  her  territory  and  islands,  was  the  subject 
of  conflict,  she  suffered  all  the  horrors  and 
devastations  of  alternate  conquest.  Forced, 
of  necessity,  to  choose  one  of  these  rival 
powers  as  their  masters,  her  people  threw 
themselves  upon  the  protection  of  Venice, 
in  the  hope,  that  the  power  of  that  brave 
and  generous  republic  might  rescue  them 
from  the  tyranny  under  which  they  groan- 
ed. After  a  series  of  wars  among  the  mosr 
obstinate  and  bloody  ever  waged,  and  in 
which  the  Greeks  were  the  principal  suf- 
ferers; their  slavery  was  completed,  and 
their  chains  rivetted,  by  the  overthrow  of 
the  Venetian,  and  the  triumph  of  the? 
Turkish  arms, 


9 

Under  a  government  which,  both  in  its 
theory  and  administration,  imposes  on  its 
own  subjects  an  absolute  tyranny,  the  ri- 
gours of  which  nothing  but  long  custom, 
the  servility  induced  by  ignorance,  and  reli- 
gious superstition,  could  compel  them  to 
endure ;  it  may  be  well  supposed  that  the 
Greeks,  (having  no  community  of  interest* 
language,  manners,  or  religion,  with  their 
conquerors,)  must  have  suffered  oppressions 
and  cruelties  intolerably  afflictive  and  se- 
vere. 

The  irreconcilable  animosity  of  the  disci- 
ples of  the  Mohammedan,  toward  the  pro- 
fessors of  the  Christian,  faith,  as  well  as  the 
manifestations  which  the  Grecians  were 
frequently  giving  of  their  extreme  eager- 
ness to  recover  their  liberty,  drew  upon 
them  the  vindictive  jealousy  of  the  Porte, 
and  the  wanton  and  relentless  vengeance  of 
the  provincial  governors.  Added  to  all  this, 
was  the  rapacity  of  the  pachas  of  the  dif- 
ferent provinces,  the  primary  objects  of 
whose  government  seemed  to  be  the  ex- 
tortion of  tribute  and  plunder  from  the  un- 
protected and  wretched  population;  and, 
what  is  still  more  shocking  to  the  feelings 

of  a  Christian,  the  seizure  and  perpetual 
I* 


10 

condemnation,  to  their  infamous  pleasure, 
of  the  flower  of  female  beauty  and  virtue. 

For  the  security  of  an  authority  thus 
odious  and  galling,  and  which  the  pachas 
were  conscious  could  be  maintained  only 
by  strict  vigilance  and  brutal  force,  a  sys- 
tem of  espionage  was  established  over  the 
principal  inhabitants  throughout  the  Gre- 
cian provinces,  and  the  dagger  of  the  as- 
sassin was  engaged  to  destroy  influence  and 
to  remove  suspicion. 

Injuries,  indignities,  and  outrages,  were 
the  characteristics  of  Turkish  rule,  and  its 
afflictive  operation  was  seconded  by  the 
scourge,  the  dungeon,  and  the  scymetar. 

So  long  a  period  of  subjugation  to  differ- 
ent barbarians,  and  so  rigorous  a  slavery 
as  they  had  been  accustomed  to  endure  un- 
der the  Ottoman  power,  it  may  be  well  sup- 
posed would  have  broken  the  spirits  of  the 
Greeks,  and  have  rendered  their  character 
as  servile  as  their  condition.  The  natural 
effects  of  the  exercise  of  tyranny,  are,  pro- 
stration of  mind,  apathy  of  moral  sensibili- 
ty, and  a  tameness  of  submission,  to  op- 
pression and  indignity.  That  these  effects 
were  perceptible  in  the  Grecian  character, 
is  not  to  be  denied.     Long  habits  of  suffer- 


11 

ing  and  of  subjection,  had  repressed,  in  some 
measure,  their  ancient  spirit  of  liberty,  as 
well  as  quenched  the  fire  of  their  former 
genius.  Yet,  there  has  never  been  a  time, 
when  the  Greeks  were  not  feelingly  alive 
to  a  sense  of  their  degradation,  or  when 
they  were  not  ready,  had  the  means  been  in 
their  power,  to  hazard  life  and  every  thing 
dear,  to  effect  their  deliverance,  and  to  re- 
gain their  independence. 

They  bore  their  miseries,  but  they  did 
not  bear  them  as  slaves.  Their  souls  re- 
volted at  their  condition,  but  their  hands 
were  destitute  of  the  means  of  resistance : 
and  impotent  efforts,  they  knew,  would 
serve  no  other  purpose  than  to  draw  down 
a  heavier  weight  of  vengeance  on  their  de- 
voted heads. 

There  is,  however,  a  point  of  wretched- 
ness, at  which  humanity  rebels ;  at  which, 
desperation  takes  place  of  prudence.  Ex- 
cess of  suffering  had,  at  length,  goaded  the 
Greeks  to  the  last  stage  of  human  endu- 
rance. They  rose  in  the  majesty  of  insult- 
ed valour.  Though  weak  in  resources, 
they  were  strong  in  resolution  and  fortitude. 
They  raised  their  hands  toward  heaven* 
and  swore  by  the  sacred  names  of  their  fa^ 


12 

thers  and  of  liberty,  that  the  swords  the) 
were  about  to  draw,  should  force  their  way 
to  freedom,  or  to  a  glorious  death.  They 
cast  their  eyes  toward  the  western  hemis- 
phere. They  saw  the  people  of  this  great 
republic  free  and  happy ;  reposing  in  quiet 
and  security  beneath  the  protection  of  the 
starry  banner  of  liberty.  They  gazed  with 
eagerness  upon  that  glorious  symbol,  and 
caught  inspiration  from  the  sight.  The 
fire  of  their  former  spirit,  which  the  flood  of 
their  miseries  had  not  yet  quenched,  blazed 
again  with  its  original  brightness.  The 
genius  of  Greece,  which  had  been  slumber- 
ing for  ages,  aroused  from  her  lethargy, 
and,  springing  from  the  dust,  assumed  a 
port  as  lofty,  and  shed  around  her  a  radian- 
cy as  bright  as  she  exhibited  in  the  zenith 
of  her  ancient  fame. 


CHAPTER  II. 


The  city  of  Arta,  in  which  I  was  born, 
is  one  of  the  principal  cities  in  Western 
Greece.  It  is  an  ancient  seaport,  and  the 
see  of  an  archbishop.  It  is  situated  in  the 
S.  E.  of  the  province  of  Epirus  or  Lower 
Albania,  on  the  bank  of  the  river  Art  a, 
(the  ancient  Aracthus,)  which  rises  in  the 
mountains  of  Agrafa,  (the  ancient  Pin- 
dus,)  and  winding  through  a  beautiful 
plain,  covered  with  vineyards,  and  with 
groves  of  fig,  olive,  cherry,  pomegranate, 
mellicucha  and  orange  trees,  falls  into  the 
gulf  of  Arta  or  Ambracia.  On  one  side 
of  this  plain,  at  the  distance  of  about  three 
leagues  from  the  gulf,  stands  the  city.  Its 
site  and  appearance  are  eminently  beauti- 
ful. The  plain  on  which  it  stands,  is  sur- 
rounded by  mountains.  The  lofty  Pindus 
on  the  north,  throws  off  branches  to  the 
east  and  west,  as  if  to  form  a  natural  ram- 
part around  it.  The  city  contains  about 
ten  thousand  inhabitants.  The  houses  are 
generally  of  a  single  story,  neat  and  often 
elegant  in  their  structure ;  and  surrounded 


14 

by  gardens,  producing  all  kinds  of  fruits 
and  flowers  peculiar  to  that  climate.  "Many 
of  the  buildings  are  very  ancient.  The 
material  used  in  building,  is  the  same  here, 
as  in  most  of  the  Greek  cities.  It  is  a  sort 
of  lime  stone,  or  marble,  of  a  milky  white- 
ness, which  is  found  all  over  Greece.  The 
pure  whiteness  of  this  material,  gives  to 
the  city  a  shining  and  magnificent  appear- 
ance. 

One  of  the  principal  public  edifices  in 
the  city,  is  the  palace  of  the  despote  or 
archbishop,  called  metropole.  It  is  a  large 
and  venerable  pile  of  buildings,  and  evinces 
both  in  its  conception  and  execution,  con- 
summate taste  and  skill  in  the  architect. 
Adjoining  the  palace,  is  the  cathedral,  a 
building  of  equal  elegance.  These  two 
edifices  are  surrounded  by  a  large  number 
of  smaller  houses,  and  the  whole  is  enclosed 
by  a  high  circular  wall,  which  approaches 
the  brink  of  the  river,  and  affords  from  its 
elevated  turrets,  a  most  enchanting  pros- 
pect. 

In  another  part  of  the  city  is  situated  the 
serai,  the  residence  of  the  voevonda  or 
governor,  as  well  as  of  the  other  great 
officers  of  state,  and  their  guards.  It  is 
a  large,  elegant  and  commodious  building. 


15 

Near  the  serai  is  a  large  circular  area, 
called  machusti,  where  a  public  fair  is  an- 
nually held.  Here,  during  two  weeks  in 
the  month  of  August,  are  exposed  for  sale 
all  kinds  of  foreign  goods,  domestic  manu- 
factures, live  stock,  fruits,  &c.  Booths  are 
fitted  up  by  the  government,  for  the  recep- 
tion of  these  commodities  ;  and  every  mer- 
chant is  obliged  to  produce  and  exhibit  his 
merchandise  at  the  fair,  and  pay  a  large 
rent  for  the  use  of  the  booth  he  occupies, 
on  penalty  of  being  deprived  of  a  license 
to  traffic  in  future.  From  this  source  a 
large  item  of  revenue  annually  accrues  to 
the  treasury  of  the  pasha. 

At  a  short  distance  from  the  city,  stands 
a  very  large  and  singular  edifice,  called  pa- 
riyoriza.  The  age  of  this  building  is  un- 
known, but  it  bears  indications  of  having 
existed  for  many  centuries.  Its  dimensions 
are  vast,  but  symmetrical ;  and  its  appear- 
ance is  exceedingly  grand  and  imposing. 
This  massive  structure  contains  three  spa- 
cious apartments,  one  above  another,  each 
occupied  as  a  church.  These  are  lighted 
by  about  ninety  windows,  of  a  size  corres- 
ponding with  the  magnitude  of  the  build- 
ing. It  is  surrounded  by  a  number  of  small 
houses,  inhabited  by  nuns  and  other  poor 


16 

religious  females,  who  subsist  on  charity. 
The  whole  is  encircled  by  a  wall  of  great 
antiquity.  This  structure  is  supposed  to 
have  been  an  ancient  temple,  built  before 
the  diffusion  of  Christianity  in  Greece. 

Half  a  mile  from  the  city,  on  the  south- 
east, the  public  road  enters  a  spacious  ave- 
nue, which  extends  about  five  miles,  and  is 
at  length  terminated  by  the  river  Arta,  (or 
Aracthus.)  On  each  side  of  this  avenue, 
during  its  whole  length,  are  extensive  gar- 
dens laid  out  with  great  regularity,  and 
producing  fruits  and  flowers  of  the  most 
choice  and  delicious  kinds,  exotic  as  well 
as  native.  Lemons,  oranges,  pomegra- 
nates, citrons,  figs,  grapes,  maize,  wheat, 
pulse,  &c.  &c.  &c,  are  produced  here 
in  perfection  and  abundance.  Across  the 
river,  and  commencing  at  the  bottom  of 
this  avenue,  is  a  massive  bridge  of  very 
great  antiquity,  and  of  curious  construc- 
tion. Its  length  is  about  three  quarters  of 
a  mile ;  it  is  built  of  the  usual  material, 
handsomely  hewn,  and  the  blocks  of  which 
the  structure  is  formed,  are  united  by  a 
cement,  of  which  the  composition  is  un* 
known,  as  well  as  by  iron  fastenings,  curi- 
ously inserted  into  the  stone,  and  imper- 
ceptible,   unless  on  close  inspection. 


17 

Though  of  an  antiquity  that  eludes  re- 
search, it  is  as  firm  and  compact  as  on  the 
day  it  was  completed.  It  contains  six  large 
arches  of  different  heights ;  between  which, 
are  curiously  interspersed  several  smaller 
ones.  It  is  a  work  of  singular  grandeur 
and  magnificence,  and  has  been  an  object 
of  admiration  to  all  strangers  who  have  vi- 
sited that  place.  Some  idea  may  be  form- 
ed of  its  magnitude,  from  the  stupendous 
height  of  the  central  arch,  which  appeared 
to  me  to  be  more  than  150  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  river. 

The  city  is  defended  by  a  very  strong 
castle,  containing  about  100  pieces  of  can- 
non. The  northern  wall  is  very  ancient, 
but  on  the  other  sides,  it  has  been  recently 
demolished,  and  rebuilt  by  the  Turks.  The 
river  winds  along  near  the  walls,  and  fur- 
nishes pure  and  wholesome  water  to  the 
city  and  castle.  A  branch  of  it  has  been 
diverted  by  a  canal  to  some  flour  mills  in 
the  vicinity,  and  is  thence  conveyed  by 
smaller  conduits  to  irrigate  the  gardens 
above  described. 

The  commerce  of  the  city  is  carried  on 
principally  with  the  Ionian  islands,  and  the 
ports  of  the  Ad-riatic.  It  exports  wheat. 
2 


18 

tobacco,  wool,  skins,  cheese,  olives,  wine, 
and  various  kinds  of  fruit;  and  imports 
dry  goods,  iron,  steel,  &c.  &c. 


CHAPTER  III. 


I  was  born  in  this  city,  in  the  year  1803. 
My  father,  Joanni  Stephanini,  was,  by  pro- 
fession, a  merchant,  and  carried  on  at  that 
time,  an  extensive  and  lucrative  trade  with 
the  port  of  Trieste.  He  married,  early  in 
life,  Chrissavii  Themiano,  the  daughter  of  a 
respectable  citizen  of  Arta.  The  Grecian 
women  commonly  marry  young.  My  mo- 
ther, at  the  time  of  her  espousals,  was  but 
fourteen  years  of  age.  The  fruits  of  this 
union,  were  seven  children  :  four  sons, 
Spiro,  Demetre,  Sylvestro,  and  myself;  and 
three  daughters,  Maria,  Catharina,  and 
Anna. 

It  was  my  fortune  to  be  born,  and  to 
have  lived  in  an  eventful  period  of  my  coun- 
try's history.  As  early  as  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  century,  the  galling  and 
aggravated  oppressions  which  my  country- 


19 

men  were  suffering,  (and  which  were  grow- 
ing daily  more  intolerable,  from  the  suspi- 
cions which  the  Turks  entertained  of  their 
disaffection  to  the  Porte ;  and  of  their  se- 
cret attachment  to,  and  correspondence 
with  the  Russian  court;)  had  kindled  the 
patriotic  enthusiasm  of  some  individuals  of 
character  and  influence  among  the  Greeks ; 
and  inspired  them  with  a  determination  to 
make  an  effort  to  deliver  their  suffering  and 
degraded  country  from  her  chains.  Seven 
of  these  patriots  formed  themselves  into  an 
association,  for  the  purpose  of  secretly  and 
gradually  preparing  the  minds  of  their 
countrymen  for  an  endeavour  to  regain 
their  liberty.  They  travelled  all  over  Eu- 
rope, with  a  view  to  awaken  sympathy,  and 
to  gain  advocates  to  their  cause.  One  of 
these  was  the  celebrated  Riga,  whose  name 
is  pronounced  with  veneration  by  every 
Greek;  and  of  whom  I  must  indulge  my 
feelings,'  by  giving  a  brief  account.  This 
distinguished  patriot,  and  excellent  man. 
was  born  about  the  year  1760,  in  Thessaly. 
His  youth  was  devoted  to  study,  and  to  the 
cultivation  of  poetry.  An  ardent  study  of 
the  ancient  Grecian  writers  had  deeply  im- 
bued his  mind  with  the  principles  and  senti- 
ments of  the  greatest  and  best  men  of 


20 

Greece,  in  the  days  of  her  liberty  and  glory 
He  looked  around  on  the  present  condition 
of  his  country,  and  a  patriotic  indignation 
filled  his  bosom  as  he  beheld  her  prostrate 
in  the  dust,  and  agonizing  in  her  chains. 
Having  finished  his  education  in  Italy,  and 
made  the  tour  of  Europe,  he  returned  to 
his  own  country ;  where,  by  his  exhortations 
and  writings,  he  diffused  among  his  coun- 
trymen his  own  enthusiasm  for  liberty.  To 
enlighten  their  understandings,  and  to  pre- 
pare them  for  the  effort  he  intended  to 
make,  he  translated  several  books  into  his 
native  language.  He  also  published  for 
their  benefit,  a  map  of  the  country,  and  a 
dictionary  of  the  modern  Greek  language. 
His  whole  soul  seemed  devoted  to  the  great 
enterprise  he  meditated ;  and  his  fortune- 
faculties,  and  unremitted  labours  were  all 
employed  in  preparing  the  way  for  its  ac- 
complishment. He  made  frequent  journeys 
among  the  peasantry;  increased  their  know- 
ledge by  his  instructions,  and  excited  the 
spirit  of  liberty  by  the  recitation  of  patrio- 
tic songs,  which  he  condescended  to  write 
for  that  purpose.  He  was  the  idol  and  the 
hope  of  his  countrymen.  The  aged  looked 
to  him  as  their  last  hope;  the  young  as 
their  future  deliverer.    But  while  his  great 


21 

project  was  ripening,  and  he  and  his  com- 
patriots were  journeying  over  Europe,  to 
obtain  advocates  and  aid,  he  was  seized  in 
the  Austrian  dominions  by  Turkish  emissa- 
ries, who  had  been  set  to  watch  his  move- 
ments ;  and  with  the  manifest  connivance  of 
the  Austrian  court,  and  to  its  everlasting 
disgrace,  he  was  dragged  to  the  frontier  of 
Turkey,  and  there  beheaded.  But  he  has 
left  behind  him  a  name  embalmed  by  vir- 
tue. It  is  recorded  in  the  heart  of  every 
Greek ! 

The  fire  of  patriotism,  which  had  been 
kindled  by  the  zeal  of  Riga,  and  his  few  as- 
sociates, did  not  expire  with  him.  Though 
smothered,  it  continued  to  increase  till  it 
burst  out  at  length  into  the  flame  of  the 
revolution. 

In  the  patriotic  scheme  of  Riga,  the  peo- 
ple of  Epirus,  in  which  my  family  resided, 
could  not  participate.  They  were  then  un- 
der the  despotic  and  iron  domination  of  the 
famous  Ali,  who  was  pasha  of  Ioannina, 
and  valisse  or  viceroy  of  Romelia.  Of 
this  man,  who  bade  fair  at  one  time  to  be- 
come the  independent  sovereign  of  the  whole 
of  Greece ;  who,  for  a  long  time,  held  the 

power  of  the  sultan   in  defiance  ;     and 

2# 


22 


whose  alliance  was  courted  by  the  principal 
powers  of  Europe,  it  may  not  be  improper 
to  give  a  brief  account. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


At  the  time  of  my  birth,  Ali  Pasha  had 
established  his  authority  over  all  western 
Greece, — a  territory  comprising  Albania 
proper,  (the  ancient  Illyria,)  Epirus,  Acar- 
nania,  iEtolia  and  Locris.  His  residence 
was  at  Ioannina,  a  city  about  fprty  miles 
N.  W.  of  Arta.  This  man  owed  the  great 
and  formidable  power  he  possessed,  to  9 
series  of  successful  exploits  and  intrigues, 
perhaps  unequalled  in  the  history  of  any 
one  individual.  He  was  born  at  Tepeleni, 
in  upper  Albania,  about  the  year  1748: 
and  was  the  son  of  Veli,  bey  or  sanjiac  of 
that  city.  The  father  of  Ali  died  while 
he  was  a  child ;  and  his  education  devolved 
upon  his  mother ;  a  woman  of  singular  ta- 
lents, undaunted  courage,  and  of  fierce 
and  implacable  temper.  On  the  death  of 
her  husband,  she  assumed  his  authority; 
and  putting  herself  at  the  head  of  a  few 


23 

faithful  followers,  effectually  defended, 
against  the  hostile  beys  and  agas  by  whom 
she  was  surrounded,  the  remnant  of  the 
possessions  which  had  not  been  wrested 
from  the  feeble  hands  of  her  husband. 

The  exhortations  and  example  of  this 
heroine,  inspired  the  young  Ali  with  that 
adventurous  enterprise,  invincible  intre- 
pidity, and  unshrinking  fortitude,  which 
appeared  so  conspicuous  in  his  subsequent 
character. 

Albania  proper,  of  which  Ali  was  a  na- 
tive, is  a  mountainous  and  woody  country. 
The  inhabitants  of  these  mountains,  were 
never  completely  subdued  by  the  Ottoman 
arms.  While  the  people  of  the  plains  have 
been  conquered  and  enslaved,  these  moun- 
taineers have  maintained  a  sturdy  indepen- 
dence. Their  mountains  were  incapable 
of  cultivation;  and  they,  disdaining  to 
share  the  servitude  of  the  people  of  the 
plains,  betook  themselves  for  subsistence, 
to  the  occupation  of  robbery.  They  di- 
vided themselves  into  numerous  tribes  or 
clans,  each  of  which  had  its  chief;  and 
sallying  forth  from  their  fastnesses  in  the 
mountains,  they  ravaged  the  vallies  and 
plains    below    them,  carrying  away  pro- 


24 

visions,  cattle,  and  every  other  kind  of  pil- 
lage they  were  able  to  seize. 

A  people  inured  from  their  infancy  to 
such  a  pursuit,  and  glorying  in  the  name 
of  robbers  or  klephtes,  by  which  they  were 
distinguished,  we  may  well  suppose  would 
become  a  most  hardy  and  daring  race :  and 
in  fact,  these  qualities  are  possessed  by 
them  in  so  eminent  a  degree,  that  they 
have  not  only  been  for  a  long  time,  a  terror 
to  all  Greece,  but  their  alliance  and  ser- 
vice, has  always  been  assiduously  courted 
by  the  powers  of  Austria,  Russia,  Turkey 
and  Venice,  in  their  frequent  wars.  They 
are  always  ready  to  sell  their  service  to 
the  highest  bidder;  and  wo  to  the  enemy 
against  whom  their  efforts  are  directed ! 
Their  religion  is  either  Mohammedan  or 
Christian,  as  best  suits  their  interest. 
They  are  wonderfully  strong  and  agile; 
and  are  capable  of  enduring  hunger,  thirst 
and  fatigue,  to  a  degree  that  is  truly  as- 
tonishing. Their  principal  garment  is  a 
coarse  cloak,  terminating  at  the  knee;  and 
their  arms  are  long  muskets,  ataghans  or 
short  swords,  and  pistols.  With  their  mus- 
kets slung  across  the  right  shoulder,  they 
ascend  the  precipitous  mountains,  or  leap 
from  cliff  to  cliff  with  the  speed  and  agility 


25 

of  the  antelope.  The  Albanian  women  are 
generally  employed  at  home  in  servile  do- 
mestic offices,  though  they  sometimes  ac- 
company the  men  in  their  predatory  excur- 
sions, and  fight  by  their  side,  with  equal 
fierceness  and  intrepidity. 

The  death  of  Veli  Bey,  had  left  Ali's 
mother  the  chief  of  one  of  these  clans  of 
banditti ;  and  at  the  head  of  a  few  of  his 
mother's  klephtes,  the  first  enterprises  of 
young  AH  were  undertaken.  An  account 
of  the  predatory  feats  he  achieved  while 
a  boy,  would  fill  a  volume;  and  savours 
so  much  of  romance,  as  almost  to  stagger 
credulity.  He  was,  however,  sometimes 
unsuccessful, — on  which  occasions,  he  was 
sure  to  meet  the  reproachful  and  indignant 
taunts  of  his  mother.  He  was  once  driven 
into  Tepeleni,  on  which  occasion,  his  mo- 
ther contemptuously  told  him,  to  "  go  like 
a  coward  as  he  was,  and  join  the  women  of 
the  harem."  Stung  with  the  reproach,  he 
sallied  forth  again, — his  mother  bidding 
him  never  again  to  enter  Tepeleni  but  as  a 
victor  or  a  corpse.  Notwithstanding  the 
utmost  exertions  of  valour,  he  was  again 
repulsed,  lost  all  his  followers  and  his  arms, 
and  with  the  greatest  difficulty  escaped 
alive,      Here,   was    the  turning  point  of 


26 

Ali's  fortune.  To  return  home  he  dared 
not.  Having  retired  to  an  old  solitary  ruin 
for  safety,  he  stood  for  some  time  rumina- 
ting on  his  forlorn  situation.  In  the  agita- 
tion of  his  mind,  he  struck  the  ground 
several  times  with  a  stick  which  he  held  in 
his  hand.  Having  by  this  means,  torn  up 
the  loose  earth  a  little,  he  discovered  some- 
thing bright,  which  attracted  his  attention : 
and  digging  deeper,  he  found  it  to  be  a  sil- 
ver casket,  full  of  treasure.  With  the  aid 
of  this,  he  immediately  levied  troops,  re- 
trieved his  fortunes,  entered  Tepeleni  in 
triumph ;  and  confining  his  mother  to  the 
harem,  (where  she  died  soon  after  of  cha- 
grin,) he  assumed  the  command. 

The  operations  of  Ali,  were  thencefor- 
ward conducted  on  a  larger  scale.  As  his 
power  and  resources  were,  as  yet,  however, 
hardly  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  com- 
mence the  hostilities  which  he  meditated 
against  the  neighbouring  beys  and  agas. 
he  continued  to  prosecute  his  profession 
of  robbery.  He  seized  on  all  the  passes 
and  defiles  about  mount  Pindus,  leading 
into  Thessaly  and  Ftomelia;  and  having 
garrisoned  them  with  his  klephtes,  plun- 
dered all  travellers  and  caravans  that  pas- 
sed ;  and  compelled  those  who  fell  into  his 


27 

hands  to  redeem  themselves  at  enormous 
prices,  to  avoid  being  sold  as  slaves.  He 
laid  taxes  on  all  the  smaller  towns  and 
hamlets ;  and  plundered  several  defenceless 
places.  By  these  means,  he  acquired  a 
great  booty,  which  afforded  a  resource  for 
future  operations. 

These  outrages  at  length  called  forth  the 
indignation  of  the  divan,  and  Kourd,  pasha 
of  Avlona,  was  ordered  to  march  against 
the  young  klepht.  Ali,  who  had  formerly 
been  taken  prisoner  in  one  of  his  predatory 
excursions  against  this  pasha,  (and  had  won 
so  much  on  the  affections  of  the  old  man, 
his  wife,  and  daughter,  by  his  bravery  and 
address,  that  the  two  latter  had  fallen  in 
love  with  him,  and  the  former  had  dismissed 
him  with  valuable  presents,)  found  no  great 
difficulty  in  pacifying  his  old  friend,  who 
took  him  into  his  service,  and  sent  a  favour- 
able account  of  him  to  Constantinople. 

A  series  of  successful  petty  wars,  in  which 
he  exhibited  superior  skill  and  bravery,  and, 
in  several  instances,  the  most  diabolical 
cruelty,  had  rendered  him  terrible  to  his 
neighbours,  #and  renowned  at  a  distance. 
He  was  invited  to  Constantinople  by  the 
grand  vizier,  who  conferred  on  him  a  com- 
mand in  his  army.    In  this  situation,  he 


28 

displayed  such  consummate  talents,  bra- 
very, and  address,  that  although  he  was, 
all  the  while,  carrying  on  a  secret  corres- 
pondence with  the  enemy,  yet  he  was  not 
suspected ;  but  was,  at  the  end  of  the  cam- 
paign, created  a  pasha  with  two  tails,  and 
invested  with  the  government  of  Thessaly. 
Removed  from  the  inspection  of  the  divan, 
his  authority  was  exerted  in  extorting  mo- 
ney from  the  people  of  his  government,  to 
enable  him  to  carry  into  execution  his  am- 
bitious projects.  He  levied  contributions, 
plundered  villages,  and,  having  been  made 
derven-pasha,  whose  charge  is  to  guard 
the  passes  of  the  mountains  against  rob- 
bers, he  established  a  trade  in  licences  with 
the  predatory  chiefs,  from  which  he  derived 
a  large  revenue. 

Ali  had  already  murdered  a  brother,  to 
make  way  for  his  succession  to  the  posses- 
sions of  his  father.  He  now  had  recourse 
to  the  same  horrible  expedient,  in  order  to 
procure  his  further  advancement.  The  fa- 
ther and  brother  of  his  wife,  both  fell  vic- 
tims "to  his  bloody  policy ;  the  former,  by 
treachery,  the  latter  by  vio}en#fe.  He  then 
seized  upon  their  government  of  Agyro-Cas- 
tro,  and  availing  himself  of  the  resources 
he  found   in  that  sangiatjate,  he  crossed 


29 

Mount  Pindus,  at  the  head  of  a  large  army* 
and  encamped  before  the  city  of  Ioannina, 
in  Epirus.  The  death  of  the  pasha,  had 
left  the  city  without  a  head.  The  beys, 
however,  assembled  their  troops,  and  gave 
him  battle,  but  were  repulsed.  He  was  too 
weak  to  attempt  the  city  by  storm,  and, 
therefore,  had  recourse  to  a  stratagem,  ex- 
ceedingly wily  and  daring.  Having,  by 
means  of  his  gold,  secured  some  of  the  prin- 
cipal citizens  to  his  interest,  he  pretended 
to  wait  quietly  for  the  return  of  a  deputa- 
tion, which  had  been  sent  to  the  Porte  by 
the  beys,  requesting  the  appointment  of  a 
successor  to  the  late  pasha.  Ali  secretly 
made  interest  with  the  deputies,  and  sent 
large  presents  to  the  vizier,  to  procure  the 
nomination  for  himself.  Ilis  application 
being  unsuccessful,  he  intercepted  the  de- 
puties on  the  way,  as  they  were  returning, 
with  a  firman,  for  his  immediate  retire- 
ment to  his  province,  and  the  dissolution  of 
his  arms;  and,  having  bribed  their  chief, 
he  substituted  another  firman,  by  which 
he  was  proclaimed  pasha  of  Ioannina.  On 
their  appearance  before  the  city,  the  chief 
of  the  legates  held  aloft  the  sacred  firman, 
while  all  the  beys  and  inhabitants  bowed 
their  heads  to  the  ground,  in  reverence  to 
3 


30 

the  holy  mandate  of  the  successor  of  the 
prophet. 

But  what  was  their  astonishment,  when, 
on  unfolding  the  sacred  instrument,  they 
found  their  enemy,  Ali,  declared  pasha  of 
loannina,  and  themselves  commanded  to 
yield  him  all  due  obedience !  The  treache- 
ry was  suspected  by  many,  but  resistance 
was  vain.  His  creatures,  within  the  city, 
soon  opened  to  him  the  gates,  and  he  enter- 
ed as  the  proud  representative  of  the  Sultan. 
He  seized  upon  the  treasure  of  the  beys 
who  escaped,  and  distributed  it  so  liberally 
at  the  Porte,  that  his  conduct  was  not  in- 
quired into. 

From  this  time  forth,  he  became  not  only 
the  dread  and  scourge  of  Greece,  but  a  dan- 
gerous subject  to  the  Porte  itself. 

He  now  successively  attacked  and  sub- 
dued the  pashas  of  Arta,  of  Premeti,  of 
Klissura,  of  Ostanizza,  and  Konitza.  In 
all  these  possessions,  and  many  others,  he 
was  soon  confirmed  by  the  successor  of  Ab- 
dulhamed,  who  had  just  ascended  the 
Ottoman  throne. 

The  history  of  Ali  becomes  thenceforth 
a  part  of  the  history  of  Europe.  He  was 
master  of  the  extensive  province  of  Ro- 
♦melia,  (which  includes  the  whole  of  ancient 


31 

Thrace,)  of  Thessaly,  with  the  exception  of 
Larissa,  and  of  all  Western  Greece,  (in- 
cluding Albania,  Epirus,  Acarnania,  CEto- 
lia,  and  Locris,)  excepting  a  few  fortified 
cities  on  the  shore  of  the  Ionian  Sea.  His 
turbulent  and  ambitious  spirit  engaged  him 
in  a  constant  series  of  wars,  intrigues,  and 
atrocities,  to  which,  perhaps,  the  history  of 
no  other  individual  presents  a  parallel.  He 
was  now  a  personage  of  so  much  conse- 
quence, that  his  alliance  was  simultaneous- 
ly courted  by  all  the  principal  powers  of 
Europe.  Ambassadors  from  France,  En- 
gland, Austria,  Russia,  and  Prussia,  resided 
at  his  capital,  and  his  power  was  as  much 
respected  and  dreaded,  as  that  of  the  Sul- 
tan himself;  whose  authority  Ali  reluctant- 
ly acknowledged. 

If  the  foreign  policy  of  Ali,  exhibited 
him  a  treacherous  and  dangerous  ally,  and 
a  vindictive  and  dishonourable  enemy,  his 
domestic  policy  showed  him  no  less  mani- 
festly, a  selfish,  rapacious,  and  unfeeling 
tyrant.  Such  qualities  could  not  fail  to 
render  him  extremely  odious  to  the  people 
whom  he  governed.  His  disposition  to 
plunder,  was  by  no  means  repressed  by  his 
elevation.  His  palace  at  Tepeleni,  was 
filled  with  treasure  which  his  rapacious  vio- 


32 

lence  had  wrung  from  his  unhappy  people: 
and  the  complaints  preferred  by  the  suffer- 
ers, to  the  Porte,  were  easily  stifled,  by  the 
liberal  distribution  of  his  gold  at  that  cor- 
rupt and  infamous  court.  The  least  re- 
monstrance against  his  violence,  or  hesita- 
tion to  comply  with  his  unjust  and  exorbi- 
tant demands,  was  sure  to  procure  for  the 
subject,  the  prison  or  the  scourge.  He  had, 
in  every  quarter  of  his  dominions,  spies 
posted,  who  narrowly  watched  the  conduct 
and  conversation  of  the  leading  individuals, 
and  every  symptom  of  discontent,  or  disaf- 
fection to  his  administration,  was  followed 
by  the  most  rigorous  imprisonment,  or  by 
secret  assassination. 

Fearful  of  the  just  indignation  of  an  op- 
pressed and  afflicted  people,  the  pasha  ne- 
ver ventured  abroad  without  being  sur- 
rounded by  a  strong  and  impervious  guard 
of  his  Albanians ;  nor  did  he  ever  receive 
food  or  drink,  till  he  had  tested  its  harm- 
lessness,  by  compelling  another  person  to 
partake  of  it,  before  him.  He  made  an  an- 
nual visit  to  each  of  the  provincial  cities  in 
his  jurisdiction,  attended  by  a  numerous 
train  of  marauders ;  and  their  route  was, 
on  such  occasions,  marked  by  rapine  and 
blood, 


33 

The  only  tolerable  feature  of  the  admi- 
nistration of  Ali,  was  an  untiring  vigilance 
in  searching  out,  and  destroying  the  hordes 
of  klephtes,  of  which  he  had  formerly  been 
so  distinguished  a  leader.  His  mode  of  pu- 
nishing those  who  fell  into  his  hands,  was 
horribly  barbarous.  Empalement,  cruci- 
fixion, burning  at  the  stake,  and  roasting  on 
a  spit  before  a  slow  fire,  were  some  of  the 
horrible  means  he  adopted  to  deter  others 
from  attempting  to  share  with  him  the  pri- 
vilege and  profit  of  general  pillage  and  rob- 
bery. 

The  destruction  of  the  klephtes  was, 
however,  but  a  poor  compensation  to  the 
wretched  people,  for  the  tenfold  greater  ag- 
gressions and  cruelties  which  he,  himself 
was  constantly  committing. 


CHAPTER  V. 


When  I  was  about  twelve  years  old,  I 

accompanied  my  father  on  a  visit  to  Ioan- 

nina,  the  capital  of  Ali  Pasha.      This  city 

is   at  the    distance  of  about   forty   miles 

from  Arta,  and  the  road  thither  lies  across 
3# 


34 

a  lofty  mountain,  and  through  a  beautiful 
little  hamlet,  called  Scalopula.  Ioannina 
is  the  most  considerable  city  in  Western 
Greece.  It  gives  its  name  to  the  whole 
pashalik,  and  its  situation  exactly  in  the 
centre  of  Epirus,  is  so  commanding  and  im- 
portant, that  it  is  not  strange  that  the  dis- 
criminating policy  of  Ali  Pasha  should 
have  selected  it  as  his  residence,  and  be- 
stowed vast  pains  in  enlarging  the  city,  and 
strengthening  its  fortifications.  It  stands 
on  the  west  side  of  a  lake  of  the  same  name, 
which  is  about  ten  or  twelve  miles  in  length, 
and  two  or  three  in  breadth.  From  this 
lake,  flows  a  river,  called  Limnas,  which 
falls  into  the  gulf  of  Arta. 

The  length  of  the  city,  is  nearly  three 
miles,  and  its  breadth  from  one  to  two. 
The  part  which  is  built  on  the  margin  of 
the  lake,  is  low,  but  the  parts  more  remote 
therefrom,  are  built  on  acclivities  which 
overlook  the  lake  and  the  country  toward 
the  north  and  west.  There  are  two  princi- 
pal streets,  one  of  which  runs  almost  the 
whole  length  of  the  city.  In  the  rear  of 
the  buildings  are  pleasant  gardens,  produ- 
cing various  kinds  of  tropical  fruits.  From 
the  central  part  of  the  city,  a  little  trian- 
gular peninsula  juts  into  the  lake,  on  which 


35 

stood  the  fortress  and  one  of  the  palaces  of 
Ali  Pasha.  On  each  angle  of  this  little 
peninsula,  which  is  connected  to  the  city 
by  a  bridge,  is  erected  a  strong  tower, 
which  together  command  the  city,  the  lake, 
and  the  adjacent  country.  Ioannina  is 
the  most  considerable  city  in  the  west  of 
Greece.  It  contained  at  that  time  about 
fifty  thousand  inhabitants,  principally 
Greeks  and  Albanians,  with  a  few  Turks. 
Jews  and  Armenians.  The  pasha  had 
several  palaces  in  the  city  :  but  the  most 
elegant  of  these,  as  well  as  of  all  the  pub- 
lic structures,  was  situated  on  an  eminence 
to  the  west  of  the  city ;  and  was  occupied 
by  the  pasha  and  his  wives,  as  a  summer 
residence.  -This  palace  was  surrounded  by 
a  high  wall,  and  was  strongly  fortified. 

The  lake  of  Ioannina  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  sheets  of  water  imaginable.  It 
is  nearly  ten  miles  long,  and  three  broad. 
Its  margin  is  skirted  on  the  west  and  north 
by  the  city,  and  by  a  succession  of  beauti- 
ful groves,  gardens  and  verdant  plains, 
which  extend  along  its  whole  length ;  and 
on  the  east  by  a  range  of  lofty  mountains 
which  rise  precipitately  from  its  bank.  In 
the  centre  of  the  lake  is  a  charming  little 
island,  whither  the  grandees  of  the  pasha's 


36 

court  resorted  in  the  heat  of  summer  for 
recreation.  The  lake  was  covered  with 
little  boats  passing  to  and  fro:  and  the 
whole  assemblage  of  objects,  was  such  as  a 
skilful  painter  would  delight  to  copy.  No- 
thing could  exceed  the  loveliness  of  the 
scene  viewed  by  moonlight.  The  groves 
of  orange  and  lemon,  fanned  by  the  air, 
and  imparting  to  it  their  balminess, — the 
city  lying  in  all  its  beauty,  its  snowy 
edifices  reflecting  the  silver  rays  of  the 
moon,  and  its  lofty  towers,  minarets  and 
pinnacles,  seeming  to  pierce  the  clear  blue 
canopy, — the  rugged  mountain  with  its 
dense  and  towering  forests, — the  lake  re- 
posing at  its  foot,  and  spreading  its  tran- 
quil and  amber  waters,  gilded  by  the  trem- 
bling moonbeam,  and  ruffled  only  by  the 
dipping  oar,  wherewith  the  boatman  pro- 
pelled the  gliding  skiff,  while  he  broke  the 
stillness  with  his  midnight  song : — all  these 
together  exhibited  a  spectacle  most  en- 
chanting and  glorious,  and  fitted  to  raise 
emotions  of  sublime  delight,  not  however, 
without  an  alloy  of  regret,  that  in  the  be- 
stowing of  favours  on  that  charming  land, 
the  hand  of  liberty  had  been  so  much  less 
munificent  than  that  of  beauty. 
Between  Ioannina  and  Arta  a  considera- 


37 

ble  inland  trade  is  carried  on,  in  hard  wares- 
wines,  olives,  lemons,  oranges,  and  various 
other  kinds  of  fruits.  The  air  of  Ioannina 
is  clear  and  piercing,  and  its  temperature 
much  colder  than  that  of  Arta.  While  at 
at  Ioannina,  I  frequently  saw  Ali  Pasha. 
He  was  at  that  time  about  seventy-five 
years  of  age.  Never  before  was  so  fierce 
and  untameable  a  soul,  coupled  with  a  form 
so  venerable,  or  a  countenance  so  benig- 
nant. A  stranger  would  have  taken  him 
for  a  philosopher,  if  not  a  saint ;  and  would 
be  astonished  to  behold  in  a  person  of  so 
much  apparent  suavity  and  mildness,  the 
most  bloody  tyrant  and  rapacious  robber  of 
the  age.  He  was  considerably  below  the 
middle  stature,  though  muscular  and  thick 
set.  His  head  was  uncommonly  large ;  his 
legs  remarkably  short ;  his  complexion  was 
unusually  fair,  and  his  countenance  full, 
florid,  and  intelligent ;  his  eyes  were  blue, 
and  exceedingly  lively  ;  his  beard  was  white 
as  milk,  and  hung  down  very  low  upon  his 
breast ;  and  there  was  perceptible  in  his  air 
and  manner,  as  little  of  the  haughty  reserve 
of  the  Turk,  as  of  the  savage  fierceness  of 
the  Albanian.  He  wore  on  his  head  a  high 
turban,  composed  of  many  small  rolls,  made 
of  the  finest  gold  muslin ;  over  a  rich  Turk- 


38 

ish  dress,  he  wore  a  jube,  or  loose  frock  of 
light  silk,  trimmed  with  ermine.  From  a 
belt,  or  zone,  of  golden  tissue,  hung  an 
ataghan,  or  long  dagger,  studded  with  dia- 
monds; and  a  long,  loose  cloak,  of  light  crim- 
son, completed  his  attire.  It  is  said,  that 
his  palace  exhibited  a  sumptuousness  hard- 
ly inferior  to  that  of  the  Sultan  himself; 
and  he  entertained  foreigners  of  distinction 
with  much  hospitality. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


The  affluent  circumstances  of  my  father, 
and  the  influence  which  wealth  confers, 
rendered  him  one  of  the  peculiar  subjects 
of  the  rapacity,  as  well  as  of  the  suspicion, 
of  the  creatures  of  the  pasha.  Desirous  to 
find  some  situation  affording  more  security 
to  property,  as  well  as  apprehensive  of  per- 
sonal danger  to  himself  and  family,  he  re- 
solved to  withdraw  from  the  jurisdiction  of 
a  tyranny  so  galling. 

Looking  around  him  for  some  situation 
less  insecure,  and  less  unfavourable  to  his 


39 

pursuit,  he  fixed  on  Patras,  in  the  Morea, 
(Peloponnesus.)  Much  address  was  ne- 
cessary to  effect  his  escape  from  the  talons 
of  Ali's  rapacious  harpies,  who  had  received 
a  mandate  from  the  pasha  to  prevent  his 
subjects  from  leaving  his  territories.  He 
found  means,  however,  to  elude  their  vigi- 
lance, and  fled  to  Patras.  In  that  city,  he 
recommenced  his  mercantile  pursuits,  and, 
after  the  inquiry  respecting  his  absence 
was  over,  he  also  procured  the  escape  of  his 
family  to  the  same  place.  We  left  the  city 
and  country  of  our  fathers,  with  the  strong- 
est feelings  of  regret.  Driven,  as  exiles, 
from  our  home,  by  the  iron  rod  of  oppres- 
sion, emotions  of  indignation  were  mingled 
with  those  of  grief,  when  we  bade  adieu  to 
the  friends  and  the  scenes  we  loved. 

Even  now  at  this  distance  from  the  spot, 
and  after  the  endurance  of  so  many  misfor- 
tunes and  sufferings,  my  thoughts  often 
recur  with  melancholy  pleasure  to  the 
home  of  my  childhood;  and  my  heart 
cherishes  with  fond  sensibility,  the  recollec- 
tion of  the  beauties  and  delights  of  that 
lovely  region,  rendered  more  sacred  to 
my  memory  by  the  associations  of  early 
friendship,  and  the  holy  ties  of  consan- 
guinity. 


40 

After  our  settlement  in  Patras,  my  fa- 
ther resumed  his  mercantile  occupation. 
The  government  of  Tripolitza,  (which  pa- 
shalik  included  Patras,)  was  at  that  time 
in  the  hands  of  Mohammed  Pasha.  To 
do  him  justice,  it  must  be  confessed  that 
his  government  was  less  intolerable  than 
that  of  Ali  Pasha ;  and  that  his  exactions 
were  not  so  exorbitant  and  enormous,  but 
that  commerce  was  a  profitable  pursuit. 
My  father  availed  himself  of  the  oppor- 
tunity, and  by  his  industry  and  enterprise, 
soon  amassed  an  ample  fortune.  The  com- 
merce of  Patras,  was  carried  on  chiefly 
with  the  ports  of  Italy.  As  my  father 
had  destined  me  for  his  own  profession,  I 
was  carefully  initiated  by  him  into  the 
principles  and  practice  of  trade;  and  in- 
structed by  a  tutor  in  the  rudiments  of  the 
Italian  language.  The  affairs  of  my  family 
continued  as  flourishing,  and  our  prospects 
as  bright  as  the  despotism  we  were  under 
would  permit :  till  the  occurrence  of  those 
calamitous  events  which  involved  us  as 
well  as  our  country  in  ruin  and  wretched- 
ness. 

The  spirit  of  liberty  which  had  been  in- 
fused by  Riga  and  his  compatriots  ;  which 
had  been  further  excited  by  similar  asso- 


41 

ciations  of  patriots,  and  justified  by  new 
and  insupportable  aggressions ;  and  which 
had  prompted  the  unfortunate  Suliotes  to  a 
resistance  which  had  drawn  upon  them  the 
sword  and  flame  of  extermination — had  hi 
the  year  1821,  become  general  throughout 
Greece. 

The  noble  attempts  of  Czerni  George, 
and  of  Galeati  in  1817,  to  liberate  their 
country,  though  unsuccessful,  had  opened 
the  eyes  of  their  countrymen,  increased 
their  ardour  for  liberty,  and  stimulated 
them  to  a  more  general  effort  to  obtain  it. 

In  the  spring  of  1821,  Ypsilanti,  Canta- 
cuzene  and  Suzzo,  brave  soldiers  and  ac- 
complished men,  raised  the  standard  of 
revolution.  Suzzo  was  a  young  Greek, 
who  by  his  bravery  and  address,  had  so  in- 
gratiated himself  with  the  Porte,  that  he 
had  been  appointed  viceroy  of  Moldavia,, 
Prince  Cantacuzene  was  descended  from 
an  illustrious  Greek  family ;  and  had 
greatly  distinguished  himself  as  a  military 
commander,  and  although  *  much  superior 
in  rank  and  age  to  Ypsilanti,  yet  he  mag- 
nanimously volunteered  to  serve  under 
him.  Prince  Alexander  Ypsilanti,  was  the 
son  of  the  viceroy  of  Wallachia,  and  was 
a  major  general  in  the  service  of  Russia 
4 


42 

He  had  been  bred  a  soldier  from  his  boy- 
hood, had  acquired  a  high  reputation  in 
the  campaign  of  1812,  and  lost  his  right 
arm  in  the  battle  of  Culm.  He  was  bold, 
generous,  honourable  and  patriotic.  To 
him  as  their  leader,  and  to  his  brother 
chieftains,  the  Greek  patriots  had  confided 
the  issue  of  their  cause. 

The  plan  of  the  Grecian  commanders 
was,  under  existing  circumstances,  the  best 
that  human  wisdom  could  devise ;  and  had 
not  the  selfish  and  perfidious  policy  of 
Russia  prevented,  must  have  resulted  in 
the  most  complete  success.  The  Grecian 
patriots  had  been  secretly  assured  of  the 
co-operation  of  that  power  in  effectuating 
the  independence  of  their  country.  Ypsi- 
lanti  had  determined  on  commencing  offen- 
sive operations  beyond  the  Danube ;  Suzzo 
was  at  a  proper  time,  to  declare  himself 
openly,  and  lead  the  Moldavians,  as  well  as 
the  Servians,  who  were  now  in  a  state  of 
revolt,  to  his  aid ; — at  the  same  time,  a  con- 
spiracy was  set  on  foot  at  Constantinople, 
ihe  explosion  of  which,it  was  believed,  would 
.shake  the  Ottoman  empire  to  its  centre. 

Ypsilanti  attired  his  troops  in  a  mourn- 
ing habit,  indicative  of  the  afflicted  state  of 
his  country :  and  assumed  as  a  banner,  the 


43 

figure  of  a  phoenix  rising  from  its  ashes,  in 
token  of  her  regeneration.  He  issued  an 
energetic  proclamation,  addressed  to  his 
countrymen,  calling  upon  them  to  shake 
off  the  Turkish  yoke,  to  follow  the  standard 
of  the  cross,  and  to  join  him  in  the  great 
and  glorious  work  of  emancipating  Greece ; 
assuring  them  that  the  court  of  Russia  was 
also  ready  to  punish  the  infidels  for  their 
repeated  perfidies  and  cruelties. 

The  effect  of  this  proclamation  was 
electric.  The  appearance  of  Ypsilanti  in 
the  field,  and  the  assurance  of  the  aid  of 
Russia,  gave  such  spirit  and  alacrity  to 
every  class  of  the  people,  that  they  flocked 
in  great  numbers  to  his  standard.  The 
plan  of  the  commanders  was  so  well  exe- 
cuted, that  Ypsilanti  was,  in  a  short  time, 
master  of  all  Moldavia  and  Wallachia. 
The  plot  at  Constantinople,  which  was  no 
less  than  to  arm  the  Greeks  in  that  capital, 
to  fire  the  arsenal,  and  to  seize  the  person 
of  the  Sultan,  was  in  a  favourable  train ; 
and  all  things  seemed  to  promise  a  speedy 
and  auspicious  issue  to  the  measures  of  the 
Greeks ;  when  a  manifesto  of  the  Russian 
court,  disclaiming  all  participation  in  those 
measures,  and  denouncing  Ypsilanti  as  a 


44 

rebel  and  incendiary,  fell  like  a  thunderbolt 
on  him  and  his  compatriots. 

The  Moldavians,  who  had  relied  on  the 
succour  of  that  faithless  court,  soon  began 
to  waver,  and  Suzzo  was  obliged,  for 
safety,  to  retire  across  the  Danube.  The 
plot  at  Constantinople,  miscarried,  when  at 
the  point  of  successful  completion,  by  the 
misconduct  or  treachery  of  one  of  the  in- 
dividuals, to  whom  it  had  been  entrusted. 

Notwithstanding  all  these  discourage- 
ments, the  heroic  Ypsilanti  awaited  at 
Bucharest,  the  approach  of  the  Turkish 
grand  army ;  against  which  he  was  re- 
solved, weak  and  dispirited  as  were  his 
troops,  to  hazard  a  general  battle,  as  the 
only  possible  means  left  to  revive  the 
spirits  of  the  revolutionists,  and  to  save  the 
country.  But  his  design  was  unfortunately 
frustrated  by  the  treachery  of  one  of  his 
principal  officers,  and  the  defection  of  part 
of  his  army. 

In  consequence  of  this  disaster,  he  was 
obliged  to  make  a  hasty  retreat  with  the 
remnant  of  his  army  to  Tergovist,  a  city  in 
the  centre  of  Wallachia.  The  Turks  soon 
entered  Bucharest,  having  on  their  march 
thither,  made  a  general  slaughter  of  all  the 
Greeks  that  fell  into  their  hands.    Multi- 


45 

tudes  of  both  sexes  were  empaled  alive  5 
crowds  of  defenceless  women  were  driven 
into  monasteries,  and  there  burnt ;  and  hun* 
dreds  of  little  children  were  hanged  up  by 
the  feet  along  the  public  roads. 

The  Turkish  army,  after  these  horrible 
atrocities,  set  out  in  pursuit  of  Prince 
Ypsilanti.  He  called  a  council  of  war,  and 
after  a  hasty  deliberation,  it  was  determined 
to  risk  a  battle.  The  prince  posted  his 
little  army  as  advantageously  as  circum- 
stances would  permit:  and  had  hardly 
finished  the  necessary  dispositions,  when 
the  Turks  commenced  the  battle.  This 
was  on  the  morning  of  the  17th  of  June, 
1821.  The  Turkish  infantry  rushed  for- 
ward with  loud  shouts,  but  were  repulsed 
with  the  bayonet.  A  second  charge  was 
repelled  with  equal  intrepidity,  and  the 
fortune  of  the  day  seemed  to  incline  to  the 
patriot  cause.  At  this  fatal  moment,  Ca- 
ravia,  the  commander  of  Ypsilanti's  ca- 
valry, with  his  squadrons,  gave  way,  and 
shamefully  fled.  The  corps  of  Nicholas 
Ypsilanti,  brother  of  the  prince,  followed 
the  example,  in  spite  of  the.  authority  of 
their  leader.  The  whole  army  was  imme- 
diately thrown  into  the  utmost  confusion, 

and  notwithstanding  the  greatest  efforts  of 

4* 


46 

the  prince  and  the  other  chiefs  to  restore 
order  and  to  rally  the  troops,  they  broke 
their  ranks  and  fled  in  every  direction. 

To  this  shameful  conduct,  there  was, 
however,  a  glorious  exception  and  contrast, 
exhibited  in  the  devoted  heroism  of  a  corps 
commanded  by  Giorgaki.  This  corps  was 
composed  of  young  Greeks  of  illustrious 
families,  who  had  been  educated  at  the  uni- 
versities of  Christian  Europe,  and  who  now 
left  them  and  repaired  to  the  standard  of 
Ypsilanti. 

They  formed  a  band  of  five  hundred,  and 
their  zeal,  patriotism,  and  union,  had  pro- 
cured them  the  title  of  the  Sacred  Band. 
Preferring  a  glorious  death  to  dishonour, 
they  stood  firm  and  collected  amidst  the 
confusion  and  flight  of  the  panic-stricken 
army.  Hoping,  by  the  sacrifice  of  their 
lives,  to  wipe  away  the  reproach  of  the  day, 
and  to  produce  an  impression  favourable 
to  the  cause  of  liberty,  and  to  the  cha- 
racter of  their  countrymen,  they  resolved 
to  sell  their  lives  as  dearly  as  possible. 
With  their  intrepid  leader  at  their  head, 
they  maintained  the  field  against  the  whole 
Turkish  army.  The  human  mind  cannot 
conceive  a  spectacle  of  more  interest  or 
moral  sublimity.    The  flower,  the  hope,  thip 


47 

glory  of  Greece  were  there  offering  them- 
selves up,  a  voluntary  oblation  on  the  altar 
of  her  freedom.  After  performing  prodigies 
of  valour,  they  sunk  beneath  the  over- 
whelming force  and  numbers  of  the  enemy; 
and  their  devotion  and  deaths  has  rendered 
the  plain  of  Oltau  equally  illustrious  with 
those  of  Marathon  and  Thermopylae. 

Ypsilanti,  left  without  an  army  and  with- 
out hope  in  that  quarter,  hastened  to  Trieste* 
to  embark  for  the  Morea,  in  order  to  join 
his  countrymen  who  had  raised  the  patriot 
standard  in  that  province.  On  his  way 
thither,  he  was  arrested  by  a  mandate  of 
the  Austrian  court,  and  thrown  into  the 
dungeon  of  Mongatz,  in  Hungary !  No 
cause  was  ever  assigned  for  this  flagrant 
act  of  outrage  and  injustice  ! 

The  insurrections  in  Moldavia  and  Wal- 
lachia,  were  followed  by  a  general  order 
from  the  Porte  to  all  the  pashas  in  the  em- 
pire, to  disarm  the  Greeks  in  their  respec- 
tive provinces.  At  the  same  time,  the  signal 
for  their  extermination,  was  given  at  Con- 
stantinople. The  Greek  patriarch,  Grego- 
rius,  a  meek  and  inoffensive  man,  was  seized 
and  hanged  before  the  church  where  he  was 
celebrating  the  rites  of  religion;  and  his 
body  was  given  to  the  Jews,  who  with 


48 

savage  delight  dragged  it  through  the  city 
as  a  spectacle  and  warning  to  the  terri- 
fied Christians.  At  the  same  time,  many 
Greek  churches  in  various  parts  of  the 
empire  were  destroyed,  and  the  priests  mur- 
dered. These  and  other  atrocities,  led  the 
Greek  clergy  in  the  Morea  and  the  islands, 
from  a  regard  to  safety,  to  exert  their  in- 
fluence in  fomenting  the  spirit  of  resistance. 
They  found  the  people  not  less  ready  than 
themselves  to  engage  in  a  cause  which  had 
liberty  for  its  object,  and  was  sanctified  by 
the  authority  of  religion.  Their  indigna- 
tion and  horror  were  also  excited  to  the 
highest  degree,  by  the  shocking  massacres 
which  the  Turks  had  commenced  in  several 
of  the  provinces  and  islands. 

At  Patras,  the  people  had  an  additional 
cause  of  exasperation.  A  most  enormous 
levy  had  been  made  on  that  city,  for  the 
purchase  of  supplies  for  the  army  of  Res- 
chid  Pasha,  in  Albania,  who  were  acting 
against  Ali  Pasha,  then  in  a  state  of  re- 
bellion. 

The  inhabitants  of  Suda,  a  town  of  Ar- 
cadia, had  already  taken  the  field.  In 
Patras,  the  Greek  merchants,  aware  that 
general  hostilities  must  soon  commence* 
began  to  send  off  or  secrete  their  property  i 


49 

and  the  Turks,  to  repair  and  strengthen 
the  fortress,  which  both  defends  and  com- 
mands the  city. 

The  city  of  Patras,  at  the  commence- 
ment of  hostilities,  contained  about  12,000 
inhabitants.  It  is  pleasantly  situated  on  a 
gentle  acclivity,  on  the  south-west  side  of 
the  entrance  of  the  gulf  of  Lepanto,  or 
Corinth.  On  an  elevation  near  the  city 
stands  the  fortress,  garrisoned  at  that  time 
by  five  or  six  hundred  Turks,  and  contain- 
ing 150  guns,  though  not  more  than  20  or  25 
were  mounted  and  effective.  This  fortress 
overlooks  the  town.  It  has  two  large  gates 
at  the  northern  and  southern  extremities. 
Of  these  gates  or  portals,  the  southern  was 
several  years  before  the  commencement  of 
the  revolution,  thrown  down  by  lightning, 
but  was  about  four  years  afterward  rebuilt 
by  the  Turks.  The  fortress  is  of  a  circular 
form.  The  outer  wali  is  very  high,  of  great 
thickness  and  strength,  and  surrounded  by 
a  broad  moat.  On  this  wall  the  cannon  are 
mounted — within  is  a  second  wall,  overlook- 
ing the  former,  and  inclosing  the  houses  and 
barracks  of  the  garrison ;  and  the  area  with- 
in a  third  wall  is  occupied  as  an  arsenal. 

In  April,  1821,  the  suspicions  of  the 
Turkish  garrison  were  awakened  by  tho 


50 

secret  removal  of  a  large  number  of  the 
Greek  inhabitants  of  the  city.  Measures 
were  immediately  taken  by  Zidar  Aga,  the 
Turkish  commandant,  to  put  the  fortress 
into  the  best  posture  of  defence,  in  order  to 
repel  the  anticipated  attack.  The  aga 
attempted  to  enforce  the  order  to  disarm 
the  Greek  inhabitants,  but  met  a  firm  resist- 
ance. He  then  turned  the  cannon  of  the 
fortress  against  the  city,  and  soon  ob- 
tained possession  of  it.  A  multitude  of 
peasants,  collected  by  the  zeal  and  efforts 
of  Germanos,  archbishop  of  Patras,  soon 
recovered  possession  of  the  town,  and  drove 
the  Turks  into  the  citadel. 

The  aga  gave  immediate  orders  to  set 
fire  to  the  house  of  the  archbishop.  This 
violence  was  the  signal  for  open  hostilities. 
The  Greeks,  filled  with  indignation  at  such 
a  wanton  outrage,  hastily  seized  their  arms, 
assembled  in  a  body,  and  made  a  vigorous 
assault  upon  the  fortress. 

The  Turks  commenced  a  cannonade  upon 
the  city,  but  being  unskilful  in  the  manage- 
ment of  artillery,  their  fire  produced  but 
little  effect.  The  Greeks,  who  had  previ- 
ously left  the  city,  now  flocked  in  from  the 
mountains,  accompanied  by  the  neighbour- 
ing peasantry.    A  general  shout  was  heard 


51 

throughout  the  Grecian  multitude.  EXsu^ia, 
JXa&tpa!  5»a  *i*n,  7ou  Xpitfrou !  (Liberty,  liberty ! 
for  the  faith  of  Christ !) 

On  a  neighbouring  hill,  called  Scatovuni, 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  citadel,  they 
took  a  position,  and  threw  up  a  battery.  A 
vigorous  and  regular  siege  was  commenced 
by  five  or  six  thousand  Greeks.  For  eleven 
days,  a  constant  fire  was  maintained  on  both 
sides.  The  Greeks,  during  the  first  days  of 
the  siege,  had  no  cannon,  but  they  at  length 
obtained  some  small  pieces  from  an  Ionian 
vessel,  lying  in  the  harbour.  They  were, 
however,  too  light  to  make  any  breach  in 
the  wall,  especially  as  they  could,  from  the 
nature  of  the  ground,  be  directed  only 
against  that  part  which  had  been  recently 
repaired  from  the  damage  done  by  light- 
ning, and  which  was,  consequently,  stronger 
than  the  rest.  To  storm  the  fortress,  was 
impracticable,  from  the  breadth  of  the  moat, 
and  the  want  of  ladders.  It  was,  at  length, 
determined  to  open  a  mine  beneath  the  wall, 
as  the  only  practicable  mode  of  reducing 
the  garrison,  before  a  reinforcement  from 
the  enemy  should  arrive. 

While  things  remained  thus  at  Patras, 
a  number  of  Greek  officers  arrived  in  the 
Morea  from  various  parts  of  Europe  and 


52 

the  islands.  Among  the  most  distinguish- 
ed of  these,  were  Demetrius  Ypsilanti,  a 
younger  brother  of  the  captive  Prince,  from 
whom  he  bore  a  commission,  constituting 
him  generalissimo  of  all  the  military  forces 
in  Greece.  A  younger  brother  of  Prince 
Cantacuzene,  who  accompanied  Ypsilanti ; 
Constantine  Colocotroni,  who  had  served 
both  in  the  British  and  Russian  armies,  and 
Prince  Mavrocordato,  a  man  eminent  for 
his  talents  and  elevated  character. 

A  council  was  formed  at  Patras,  for  the 
direction  of  affairs ;  consisting  of  several 
bishops,  and  a  number  of  other  wealthy 
and  influential  Greeks.  At  the  head  of  the 
council,  was  Pietro  Mavromicali,  who  had 
shortly  before,  received  from  the  Porte  the 
appointment  of  bey  of  Maina.  He  imme- 
diately published  an  energetic  and  eloquent 
manifesto,  addressed  to  the  several  courts 
of  Christian  Europe,  setting  forth  the  rea- 
sons for  taking  up  arms,  and  calling  upon 
the  Christian  nations  for  counsel  and  aid. 

The  siege  of  the  citadel  at  Patras,  was 
vigorously  pressed ;  a  mine  was  opened,  and 
almost  ready  to  be  sprung ;  the  Turks  had 
begun  to  suffer,  for  want  of  provisions;  and 
every  thing  seemed  to  promise  a  speedy  re- 
duction of  the  garrison ;  when  an  unexpect- 


53 

ed  incident  frustrated  and  destroyed  the 
hopes  of  the  besiegers. 

This  was  the  arrival  of  Ysouf  Pasha,  at 
the  head  of  a  large  body  of  cavalry.  Ta- 
king advantage  of  the  obscurity  of  a  night 
unusually  dark,  he  had  transported  his 
troops  across  the  gulf,  from  the  city  of 
Lepanto,  and  appeared  with  them  on  the 
plain  before  the  city  early  in  the  morning, 
in  array  of  battle. 

This  enterprise  had  been  conducted  with 
so  much  secrecy  and  despatch,  and  so  com- 
plete and  effectual  was  the  surprise  the 
Greeks  suffered,  that  the  first  intimation  of 
the  circumstance,  was  communicated  to  the 
citizens  by  a  simultaneous  discharge  of  all 
the  guns  of  the  citadel,  by  way  of  salute, 
and  by  the  entrance  of  Ysouf  Pasha,  and 
his  cavalry,  into  the  city. 

Many  of  the  Greeks  were  in  their  beds. 
Roused  by  the  noise  and  confusion,  they 
commenced  a  precipitate  flight;  some  to 
the  seashore,  and  others  to  the  mountains. 
Thousands  of  men,  women  and  children, 
were  rushing  through  the  streets  in  every 
direction,  endeavouring  to  escape  the 
scymetar  of  the  bloody  conquerer.  The 
town  was  immediately  given  up  to  pillage. 
The  aged  and  infirm,  and  infants  of  both 
5 


54 

sfexes,  who  were  unable  to  escape,  were 
dragged  from  their  habitations  and  hiding 
places,  and  butchered  in  the  streets. 

My  father's  residence  was  in  a  central 
part  of  the  city.  Most  of  the  family  were 
in  bed  when  the  alarm  was  given.  I  had 
just  risen,  and  hearing  a  tremendous  explo- 
sion of  cannon,  and  a  great  tumult  and 
confusion,  I  hurried  to  the  door  to  learn 
the  cause, — and  on  opening  it,  I  was  sud- 
denly seized  by  a  Turkish  soldier.  He 
bound  my  hands,  and  commanded  me  with 
many  execrations,  (in  broken  Greek,)  to  go 
before  him  to  the  citadel.  Entreaty  was 
as  unavailing  as  opposition  would  have 
been.  My  tears  and  supplications  were 
addressed  to  a  heart  of  marble ;  and  my 
reluctant  steps  were  goaded  forward  by 
the  muzzle  of  the  musket  of  my  captor. 

Thus  was  I,  at  the  age  of  seventeen, 
torn  from  the  bosom  of  my  family,  to  be- 
hold some,  perhaps  all,  of  them  no  more 
for  ever.  Their  fate,  I  was  unable  to  as- 
certain ;  and  the  suspense  and  anxiety  of 
my  soul  were  insupportable.  Ah,  ye 
favoured  of  heaven,  whose  lot  is  cast  in 
this  happy  and  peaceful  land;  who  have 
never  beheld  the  sword  and  flame  of  war 
spreading  carnage,  misery  and  desolation 


55 

around  you;  whose  friendships  have  not 
been  severed  by  the  stroke  of  the  scymi- 
tar ;  and  who  have  never  felt  the  agony  of 
being  deprived  by  massacre,  dispersion  and 
chains,  of  that  sweetest  of  all  earthly  joys, 
the  society  of  parents,  brothers  and  sisters ; 
as  little  can  you  imagine  as  I  describe  my 
feelings,  at  that  distressful  and  disastrous 
hour  ! 

On  reaching  the  fortress,  my  captor  se- 
cured me  in  a  solitary  apartment,  and  left 
me  pinioned  and  half  dead  with  grief  and 
terror.  As  he  was  a  soldier  of  the  lowest 
order,  I  had  every  thing  to  apprehend  from 
his  brutality,  and  nothing  to  hope  from  his 
humanity.  He  soon  after  returned  accom- 
panied by  some  other  Turkish  soldiers. 
Expecting  immediate  death,  I  endeavoured 
to  commend  myself  to  God,  and  await  the 
issue. 

On  being  informed  by  some  of  his  com- 
panions, by  whom  I  was  recognized,  that  I 
was  the  son  of  a  wealthy  merchant,  and 
that  my  father  had  probably  secreted  his 
money  somewhere  in  the  neighbourhood, 
as  many  other  rich  Greeks  had  done,  he 
proceeded  to  interrogate  me  concerning  its 
disposal,  and  the  place  of  its  supposed  con- 
cealment.    My  inability  to  satisfy  his  ra- 


56 

pacious  curiosity,  was  construed  into  wilful 
contumacy ;  my  most  solemn  asseverations 
of  ignorance  were  disbelieved,  and  their 
repetition  served  but  to  kindle  and  inflame 
his  rage. 

Stung  with  disappointment  in  being  thus 
defeated  in  the  attainment  of  his  anticipated 
booty,  he  seized  me,  and  with  eyes  darting 
fury,  he  drew  his  ataghan,  and  swore  by 
Alia  (God)  and  his  prophet,  that  he  would 
cut  me  in  pieces.  He  made  a  violent  stroke 
with  his  weapon  across  my  arms  (still  pin- 
ioned behind  me,)  which  inflicted  a  severe 
wound  on  one  of  my  wrists.  He  then  aimed 
a  thrust  at  my  head,  but  the  point  of  his 
dagger  striking  against  a  bone  behind  my 
right  ear,  was  prevented  from  penetrating 
deeply.  His  fury  was  here  checked  by  the 
representations  of  his  companions,  and 
seemed  to  give  place  in  some  measure  to 
another  passion,  that  of  avarice.  They 
reminded  him  that  if  he  killed  me,  he  would 
lose  the  large  sum  he  had  calculated  on  as 
the  price  that  I  should  bring  in  the  market: 
for  as  it  was  known  that  my  father  was 
wealthy,  and  would,  if  living,  pay  a  high 
price  for  my  ransom,  it  was  imagined  that 
my  purchaser,  when  informed  of  that  cir- 
cumstance, would  be  more  liberal  in  his 


57  • 

price.  To  these  representations,  I  owe  the 
prolongation  of  a  life,  subsequently  so  filled 
with  suffering,  that  its  preservation  can 
hardly  be  accounted  a  blessing. 

Meanwhile,  the  work  of  destruction  was 
going  on  in  the  city.  No  adequate  idea 
can  be  conveyed  of  the  horrible  atrocities 
that  were  committed  on  the  unhappy  in- 
habitants. The  old  and  helpless  of  both 
sexes  were  dragged  forth  shrieking  into  the 
streets  and  slaughtered;  the  matrons  and 
wives  were  brutally  abused  and  whipped ; 
the  young  women  were  violated,  and  then 
murdered  or  dragged  to  the  shambles  and 
sold  into  slavery.  Invention  was  set  on  the 
rack  to  find  modes  of  torture.  Vengeance 
was  superadded  to  cruelty,  and  brutal  pas- 
sion to  vengeance,  in  aggravating  the  tor- 
ment and  agonies  of  the  unhappy  sufferers. 

All  the  men  who  were  taken  in  arms, 
were  immediately  beheaded.  Fifty  that 
morning  were  led  into  the  fortress,  and  suf- 
fered death  in  this  manner  before  my  eyes ; 
and  their  bleeding  bodies  were  flung  out 
to  be  trampled  on  by  the  cavalry  and  to 
be  devoured  by  dogs.  Nothing  but  the 
fatigue  of  exertion,  put  an  end  at  last  to 
the  horrible  work  of  rapine  and  slaughter 

4 


»  53 

The  fate  of  these  unhappy  men  was,  how- 
ever, enviable,  compared  with  that  of  those 
who  lived  to  endure  the  shocking  miseries 
of  a  protracted  slavery. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


My  captor,  having  concluded  that  my 
death  would  be  a  loss  to  him,  and,  not  yet 
despairing  of  being  able  to  compel  me  to 
disclose  the  depository  of  my  father's  mo- 
ney, forbore  to  put  the  finishing  stroke  to 
my  wretchedness.  He  now  fell  to  whipping 
me  with  rods,  and  continued  for  three  days 
and  two  nights,  at  short  intervals,  to  inflict 
that  horrible  punishment.  The  excruciating 
torture  I  endured,  from  the  shocking  lace- 
ration of  my  flesh,  at  length  rendered  me 
frantic,  and  I  heartily  wished  for  death  to 
put  a  period  to  my  torment.  On  his  ap- 
proaching me  the  last  time,  brandishing  the 
instrument  of  his  barbarity,  I  begged  him 
to  kill  me,  and  satiate  his  demoniac  ven- 
geance with  my  blood.  I  entreated  and  im- 
plored him,  in  the  name  of  his  God,  and  of 


59 

his  prophet,  to  terminate  my  sufferings  then, 
for  I  could  endure  no  more.  I  imprecated 
and  denounced  him  as  an  unbeliever  in  any 
God,  or  any  religion,  hoping  to  provokehim 
to  inflict  the  fatal  blow,  for  which  I  suppli- 
cated in  vain.  With  a  fiend-like  laugh,  he 
assured  me,  that  he  was  not  to  be  moved  by 
prayers,  nor  provoked  by  reproaches,  to  an 
act  so  prejudicial  to  his  interest.  I  repeat- 
ed my  execrations,  till  at  length  his  savage 
temper  could  be  no  longer  suppressed.  He 
took  a  large  pistol  from  his  belt,  cocked  it, 
and  pressed  it  against  my  breast.  He 
snapped  it,  and  it  missed  fire.  Another 
trial  was  equally  unsuccessful.  Enraged 
at  the  disappointment,  he  struck  me  furi- 
ously with  the  pistol  several  times  on  my 
forehead.  I  fell  on  the  ground,  stunned, 
and  apparently  dead.  The  blood  gushed  in 
copious  streams  from  my  forehead,  and  ran 
like  water  along  the  floor.  It  is  probable, 
that  he  would,  on  this  occasion,  have  put  an 
end  to  my  misery,  and  life,  together,  had 
not  one  of  his  companions,  who  accidentally 
entered  the  room  at  that  moment,  interfered, 
and  advised  him  to  desist,  and  to  spare  my 
life.  He  remarked,  that  it  would  be  a  pity 
to  kill  me,  as  I  would,  doubtless,  bring 
something  in  the  market,  and  recommend- 


60 

ed  to  him  to  take  me  thither,  and  dispose 
of  me,  and  apply  the  proceeds  to  the  pur- 
chase of  ahorse,  or  of  equipments.  This 
suggestion  seemed  to  mitigate  his  fury,  and 
recall  his  recollection.  He  desisted  from 
further  violence,  and  exhausted  the  venom 
of  his  spite  in  stigmatizing  with  a  variety 
of  execrations  and  opprobrious  epithets,  the 
"  Greek  dog,"  (sxixxw  Pofw*,)  while  I  lay  la- 
cerated, bleeding,  and  half  dead  before  him. 
His  rage  being  abated,  the  barbarian  took 
some  sulphur  and  olive  oil,  and  melted  them 
together  in  a  pan.  Then,  having  dipped  a 
piece  of  cotton  therein,  he  bound  it  closely 
round  my  forehead,  which  was  still  bleeding 
profusely.  The  application  of  this  styptic, 
staunched  the  blood,  and  the  wounds,  in  a  \ 
short  time,  began  to  heal.  The  scars  of 
them  remain,  however,  as  a  convincing  tes- 
timony of  Turkish  cruelty.  I  was  then 
shut  up  in  a  wretched  apartment,  that  I 
might  acquire,  by  a  short  respite  from  tor- 
ture, a  more  merchantable  plight.  During 
this  time,  my  condition  was  truly  deplora- 
ble. My  flesh  had  been  so  horribly  bruised, 
and  mangled ;  it  was  so  much  swollen,  that 
it  had  assumed  a  livid  colour,  and  was  so 
exceedingly  painful,  that,  with  the  slightest 
touch,  or  motion,  I  could  hardly  refrain 


61 

irom  screaming  aloud ;  and  I  was  unable  to 
sit,  stand,  or  lie,  without  great  torment.  In 
this  situation,  I  remained  five  days;  at  the 
expiration  of  which,  I  was  dragged  forth  to 
the  Pasari,  or  market  place,  where  I  was 
subjected,  with  several  other  Greeks,  chiefly 
females,  to  the  inspection  of  the  Turkish 
traders,  as  a  horse,  or  any  other  brute ;  and 
was,  at  length,  purchased  by  a  Bey,  named 
Mustapha,  for  five  hundred  piastres,  a  sum 
equal  to  about  seventy-eight  dollars  of  the 
currency  of  the  United  States.* 

As  my  new  master  was  a  man  of  rank,  I 
had  conceived  a  hope  of  less  barbarous 
treatment  from  him,  than  from  the  brutal 
monster  from  whose  tyranny  I  was  now  re- 
leased. My  reception,  however,  soon  con- 
vinced me  that  I  had  only  been  transferred 
from  the  hands  of  one  Turk  to  those  of 
another. 

I  was  taken  with  much  rudeness,  and  no 
commiseration  to  the  house  of  my  new 
master.  My  common  appellative  was, 
M  You   dog."     (In  the  Turkish  language, 

*  Some  time  before  the  revolution  in  Greece,  a  dollar 
was,  valued  at  5|  piasters.      At  the  time  I  was  sold,  it 
was  reckoned  at  6^ ;    the  dollar  gradually  increased  in 
value  ;    and  when  I  returned  to  Greece  from  this  coun 
try,  in  1327,  it  was  equal  to  15J  piasters, 


62 

Sen  chiopec ;)  and  I  was  introduced  to  my 
new  situation  by  the  only  title  which  I 
bore  for  more  than  four  years.  "Giaour 
chiopec," — (Christian  dog.)  The  object, 
to  accomplish  which  my  master  now  set 
himself,  was  to  make  me  a  convert  to  the 
Turkish  religion.  In  order  to  do  this, 
he  inquired  of  me  first,  if  I  wished  to  be- 
come a  man.  I  answered,  that,  thank  God, 
I  was  one  already.  He  said  he  meant  a 
Mussulman;  a  believer  in  the  true  pro- 
phet; that  Christians  were  not  men,  but 
dogs.  He  then  proposed  to'  me  a  change 
in  my  religion,  offered  me  several  advan- 
tages as  the  necessary  consequences  of 
such  a  change,  spoke  of  a  removal  of  my 
bondage,  and  the  immediate  improvement 
of  my  condition, — and  set  forth  with  much 
zeal,  the  future  joys  which  the  Koran 
promises  to  every  true  believer.  He  en- 
deavoured to  strengthen  these  considera- 
tions, by  adding  to  them  many  threats  of 
punishment,  perpetual  slavery  or  death  in 
the  event  of  my  refusal.  I  told  him  firmly, 
that,  much  as  I  valued  liberty  and  life,  I 
valued  my  religion  more  than  either.  That 
I  could  never  consent  to  renounce  it ; — but 
should  live  while  I  did  live,  and  die  when  I 
did  die,  in  the  faith  of  Christ . 


63 


He  fell  into  a  violent  passion,  and  calling 
his  choushe  or  principal  Secretary,  com- 
manded him  to  throw  me  into  a  dungeon. 
In  obedience  to  this  mandate,  the  choushe 
dragged  me  to  a  cell  under  ground,  about 
six  or  seven  feet  square,  where  dogs  had 
been  kept.  Here  I  was  kept  twenty-eight 
hours  without  a  morsel  of  food  or  a  drop  of 
water;  and  ail  his  retainers  were  pro- 
hibited, by  the  severest  penalties,  from  any 
intercourse  with  me.  After  this  time  had 
elapsed,  apparently  apprehensive  that  fur- 
ther deprivation  of  air  and  food  might 
hazard  the  loss  of  his  property  ;  and,  per- 
haps, conceiving  that  the  preservation  of 
the  body,  was  of  more  consequence  to  him, 
than  that  of  the  soul,  of  his  slave ;  he  sent 
orders  to  the  choushe  to  bring  me  again 
before  him.  On  my  approaching  him,  he 
said  to  me  with  a  sneer  of  contempt, 
"  Well,  dog,  have  you  come  to  your  sen- 
ses ?  Are  you  now  willing  to  become  a 
Mussulman  ?  to  throw  off  your  religion — 
the  religion  of  dogs,  and  embrace  ours?" 
I  answered,  in  substance,  as  before,  that 
"  I  had  attachments  to  my  faith,  which  I 
could  not  break ;  that  I  had  formed  a  firm 
and  unalterable  resolution  never  to  aban- 


64 

don  it,  nor  to  swerve  from  its  principles, 
whatever  might  be  the  result." 

The  decisive  tone  of  my  answer,  which 
was,  perhaps,  in  some  degree  strengthened 
by  resentment,  seemed  to  redouble  his 
rage.  With  many  execrations  he  com- 
manded me  to  my  dungeon,  swearing  that 
I  should  remain  there  till  I  abjured  my  re- 
ligion, and  adopted  his,  or  died  from  star- 
vation. I  was  again  thrown  into  the  same 
loathsome  cell,  with  six  dogs  as  my  com- 
panions. In  this  situation,  I  lived  for  two 
months  and  a  half;  my  lacerated  flesh  still 
unhealed,  my  frame  wasted  and  weakened 
by  hunger  and  pain,  without  a  gleam  of 
light  to  cheer  my  despondency,  with  no 
bed  but  the  cold  and  wet  earth,  whereon  to 
rest  my  weary  and  emaciated  limbs,  and 
with  no  other  nourishment  than  a  small 
piece  of  black,  mouldy  and  worm-eaten 
bread,  and  a  cup  of  filthy  water,  once  in 
twenty-four  hours.  No  one  was  permitted 
during  my  confinement,  to  approach  my 
cell,  except  a  little  black,  called  Selim. 
who  once  a  day,  thrust  my  miserable  fare 
through  a  small  aperture  in  the  wall  of  my 
dungeon,  and  then  immediately  closed  it 
and  retired,  without  speaking. 


65       « 

The  ami  of  my  master  was  to  inflict  all 
the  suffering  my  enfeebled  frame  would  pos- 
sibly bear,  short  of  death.  He  did  not  wish 
to  lose  the  seventy-eight  dollars  he  had  paid, 
for  me,  and,  therefore,  allowed  me  just  a 
sufficiency  to  eke  out  a  life  which  I  should 
have  been  glad  to  resign.  During  some  of 
the  last  days  that  I  remained  in  this  dun- 
geon, I  had  become  so  completely  worn  out 
with  hunger  and  exhaustion,  that  I  was  un- 
able to  stand,  or  scarcely  to  move  my  limbs. 
I  lay  on  the  ground,  expecting  and  wishing 
to  die ;  and  the  only  tokens  of  life  I  was 
able  to  exhibit,  were  the  faint  groans  I  oc- 
casionally uttered.  The  black  boy  had 
been  instructed  to  watch  the  effects  of  this 
barbarous  treatment,  and,  when  he  per- 
ceived that  the  cord  of  suffering  had  been 
drawn  to  the  utmost  stretch  of  endurance, 
to  give  an  intimation  thereof  to  my  master, 
The  black  now  began  to  notice  me  atten- 
tively from  day  to  day,  and,  at  length,  in- 
formed my  master,  that  I  could  hold  out  no 
longer.  On  hearing  this,  he  immediately 
deputed  another  servant  with  the  black,  to 
bring  me  again  before  him.  On  seeing  me, 
he  inquired,  "Well,  dog,  what  think  you 
by  this  time  ?  Are  you  now  ready  to  be- 
come a  Mohammedan  ?"  I  was  too  weak 
6 


GO 

to  answer.  He  narrowly  observed  my 
condition,  and,  beholding  my  emaciated 
and  death-like  appearance,  spoke  for  some 
time  to  the  other  Turks,  who  were  pre- 
sent, I  suppose,  in  explanation  of  his  treat- 
ment to  me,  and  then  ordered  me  some 
pilaf  or  boiled  rice,  a  piece  of  beef,  and 
some  bread  and  water. 1  was  so  ex- 
tremely weak,  and  so  near  death,  that  I  had 
no  appetite  or  disposition  to  eat.  I  swal- 
lowed with  much  difficulty  a  mouthful  or 
two,  and  was  then  conveyed  to  another 
apartment,  above  ground,  on  the  floor  of 
which  was  a  straw  carpet,  and  an  old  rug, 
swarming  with  vermin.  My  master  soon 
after  sent  me  a  cup  of  coffee,  by  which  I 
was  somewhat  refreshed.  My  fare  here 
was  rather  more  tolerable  than  before, 
although  I  was  terribly  annoyed  by  ver- 
min, and  deprived  of  the  comforts  of  light 
and  wholesome  air;  and  although  my  mind 
was  constantly  on  the  rack  of  anxiety  for 
the  fate  of  my  family,  and  of  apprehension 
for  my  own,  yet  the  natural  vigour  of  my 
constitution  began  to  prevail  over  the  pri- 
vations and  hardships  I  suffered. 

My  master  spared  no  pains  to  intimidate 
me  by  threats,  and  to  tempt  me  by  promises, 
to  become  a  convert  to  his  faith ;  but  at 


67 

length  wearied  with  my  firmness,  (which 
he  deemed  obstinacy,)  and  despairing  of 
success  in  his  experiment,  he  desisted  from 
further  persecution.  After  remaining  a 
month  or  more  in  this  prison,  and  having  in 
a  degree  recovered  from  the  effects  of  my 
former  severe  sufferings,  I  was  permitted 
to  go  out  and  to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  light, 
fresh  air,  and  exercise.  My  master  then 
led  me  into  the  house,  and  installed  me  into 
the  office  of  a  lower  servant,  whose  duty  it 
is  to  understand  a  command  before  it  is 
uttered ;  to  be  ready  to  perform  whatever 
work  may  be  assigned,  but  more  especially 
to  take  the  charge  of  the  paraphernalia  of 
his  master,  particularly  of  his  pipes  and 
tobacco,  whence  he  is  called  "chibouc 
olan,"  or  "  boy  of  the  pipe." 


CHAPTER  VIII, 


The  use  of  tobacco,  as  well  as  of  coffee, 
among  the  Turks  is  excessive.  Tobacco 
is  very  cheap  and  mild,  and  is  used  only  by 
smoking ;  coffee  is  taken  exceedingly  strong, 


68 

very  thick,  and  without  sugar.  My  master 
usually  smoked  one  hundred  pipes  or  more* 
and  drank  about  fifty  cups  of  coffee  in  a 
day.  My  employment  of  administering 
these  luxuries,  it  may  well  be  supposed, 
kept  me  in  pretty  constant  activity.  The 
clapping  of  his  hands  was  the  common 
signal  for  the  performance  of  these  offices. 

The  Turkish  pipe  is  about  two  yards  in 
length.  The  bowl  is  small  and  formed  of 
clay ;  the  stem  is  commonly  of  cherry  tree 
or  jasmine,  into  the  end  of  which,  a  short 
cylindrical  tube  is  inserted,  curiously 
wrought  of  opal,  emerald,  and  amber,  the 
colours  whereof  are  beautifully  arranged, 
and  it  is  terminated  by  a  large  knob  of 
amber,  which  in  the  act  of  smoking  is  in- 
serted in  the  mouth. 

On  the  introduction  of  visiters,  the  cus- 
tom is,  immediately  to  furnish  to  each  indi- 
vidual a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  pipe.  These 
cups  are  very  small,  and  formed  of  silver. 
At  their  meals,  the  guests  are  seated  on 
low  couches,  or  on  the  carpet,  around  a 
table  raised  a  few  inches  above  the  floor. 
On  the  table  is  placed  a  huge  dish  of  victuals* 
from  which  they  help  themselves  with  their 
fingers,  with  little  regard  to  order  or  decency. 
Neither  knives,  forks,  or  plates*  ever  ap- 


69 

pear  at  their  meals ;  and  so  great  is  their 
dislike  to  the  use  of  these  implements,  that 
I  remember  I  was  once  severely  punished, 
and  threatened  with  death,  for  having  un- 
wittingly infringed  the  national  custom,  by 
constructing  a  wooden  fork  for  my  own  use, 
and  using  it  in  the  presence  of  my  master. 
For  this  offence,  I  was  excluded  for  some 
time  from  the  table  of  the  other  servants, 
and  compelled  to  eat  of  the  refuse  of  their 
meals. 

As  I  was  the  youngest  and  lowest  of  the 
servants,  I  was  treated  with  much  indignity 
and  severity  by  them  as  well  as  by  Mus- 
tapha  himself.  Between  the  master  and 
the  servants,  my  situation  was  exceedingly 
irksome.  Of  Mustapha  Bey,  candour, 
however,  obliges  me  to  say,  that  he  seemed 
not  utterly  incapable  of  humane  feelings, — 
but  they  were  rendered  callous  by  exces- 
sive bigotry ;  and  that  his  cruel  treatment 
to  me,  may  be,  perhaps,  ascribed  to  his  in- 
tolerant zeal  for  his  religion,  rather  than  to 
natural  malignity  of  heart. 

I  was  obliged  to  stand  constantly  be- 
hind  my  master,  in  continual  readiness  to 
perform  any  and  every  menial  duty  that 
his  necessity  or  caprice  imposed.  The 
#nly  seasons  of  recreation  I  enjoyed,  were 
6* 


70 

at  those  times  when  I  attended  him  in  his 
visits  or  peregrinations  about  the  streets, 
carrying  his  pipe  and  a  pouch  of  tobacco. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


In  this  servile  and  contemptible  occupa- 
tion, almost  five  years  of  my  life  were 
spent.  The  monotony  of  a  period  like 
this,  it  will  be  readily  conceived,  affords 
but  few  incidents  that  can  awaken  interest, 
or  claim  attention.  Every  successive  day 
brought  a  renewal  of  the  same  dull  task. 
Perhaps  it  is  not  one  of  the  least  miseries 
of  slavery,  that  it  binds  down  the  victim, 
soul  and  body,  to  the  same  narrow  range  of 
action,  to  the  same  unvaried  course  of 
tedious  drudgery  of  the  body,  and  uninter- 
rupted lethargy  of  the  mind.  A  short 
general  sketch  of  the  religion  of  the  Turks, 
may,  in  this  place,  afford  more  entertain- 
ment to  the  reader,  than  the  monotonous 
details  of  my  own  history. 

There  are  several  sects  of  Mohamme- 
dans. The  Turks  belong  to  that  of  Omar. 
The  rule  of  their  faith  and  practice  is  the 


71 

Koran.  The  two  principal  points  of  their 
belief  are,  that  there  is  one  God,  and  that 
Mohammed  is  his  prophet.  The  precepts 
of  the  Koran  enjoin,  as  indispensable  du- 
ties, frequent  ablutions, — prayers  four  times 
a  day, — the  bestowing  of  alms  according  to 
the  giver's  ability, — fasting  during  the 
month  of  Ramazan, — and  pilgrimages  to 
the  sepulchre  of  the  prophet,  at  Mecca, — 
one  pilgrimage  thither  being  considered  as 
necessary  to  salvation.  Few,  however, 
scrupulously  observe  all  these  injunctions, 
The  use  of  pork  and  of  wine  are  prohibi- 
ted; and  every  Mussulman  is  allowed  as 
many  wives  and  concubines  as  he  is  able 
to  maintain. 

The  charity  which  the  Koran  enjoins,  is 
chiefly  confined  to  the  erection  and  repairs 
of  public  edifices,  as  mosques,  caravansa- 
ries, fountains,  baths,  colleges,  and  bridges. 
Little  is  applied  directly  in  relieving  the 
wants  of  the  necessitous. 

The  Turks  believe  in  the  doctrine  of  pre- 
destination so  implicitly,  as  to  prevent  their 
taking  precaution  against  the  plague  and 
other  evils ;  and  they  endure  pain  and  af- 
flictions with  wonderful  patience  and  forti 
tude. 

The  religion,  government,  and  laws,  of 
the  Turks,  are  ciosely  blended  together. 


72 

The  divine  must  be  learned  in  the  law,  and 
the  lawyer  skilled  in  the  Koran.  The  Sul- 
tan, though  absolute,  is  virtually  restricted 
by  the  ordinances  of  religion,  and  the  deci- 
sions of  the  mufti. 

The  mufti  is,  next  to  the  grand  vizier,  or 
prime  minister,  the  principal  officer  in  the 
empire.  He  is  at  the  head  of  the  religious 
establishment.  The  superior  clergy  and 
lawyers,  compose  a  numerous  body,  called 
Ulema, — the  grand  religious  council,  whose 
decrees  are  binding,  both  on  the  inferior 
clergy,  and  laity.  Subordinate  to  these,  are 
the  imams,  or  inferior  priests,  who  perform 
the  public  offices  of  religion  in  the  mosques. 
In  the  execution  of  these,  they  are  extremely 
regular  and  punctilious.  Their  discourses 
consist  chiefly  of  moral  lessons,  which  they 
inculcate  with  much  zeal;  and  thus  take 
frequent  occasion  in  their  public  ministra- 
tions to  arraign  the  conduct,  not  only  of  the 
higher  classes,  and  the  officers  of  state,  but 
even  of  the  Sultan  himself. 

The  Turkish  women  never  exhibit  them- 
selves in  public,  except  when  performing 
the  offices  of  religion.  No  male  visitant  is 
ever  permitted  to  enter  the  harem,  or 
apartment  of  the  females,  except  the  hus- 
band, and,  occasionally,  a  small  boy  to  run 
of  errands,  and  fulfil  other  domestic  service 


73 

Being  the  youngest  of  the  servants,  this 
class  of  duties  was  assigned  to  me.  I  was 
daily  sent  by  my  master  to  the  harem,  to 
inquire  if  any  thing  was  wanted,  and  was 
often  employed  in  disposing  of  such  little 
articles  as  the  ladies  of  the  harem  amused 
themselves  in  manufacturing — such  as  gold 
thread,  embroidery,  &c.  This  was,  how- 
ever, a  distinction  that  filled  me  with  many 
apprehensions,  and  subjected  me  to  immi- 
nent hazards.  In  the  disposal  of  these  tri- 
fles, I  was  obliged  to  go  out  into  the  street, 
where  it  was  exceedingly  dangerous  for  a 
Greek  to  appear,  the  Turks  being  at  that 
time  exceedingly  exasperated  on  account  of 
some  recent  successes  of  my  countrymen. 


CHAPTER  X. 


The  successes  alluded  to  in  the  last  chap- 
ter, were  the  capture  of  Calavrita  and  Ca- 
lamata,  two  strong  places;  the  former  in 
the  northern  part  of  the  ancient  Arcadia, 
and  the  latter  in  the  south  of  Messenia, 
about  ten  miles  from  the  ancient  city  of 
Sparta.     These  two  places  capitulated  to 


74 

the  Greeks  after  short  sieges,  and  the  gar- 
risons were  made  prisoners.  The  Greeks 
were  also  successful  at  Gastugni  and  Lalla, 
two  strong  towns  of  Elis.  These  latter  ad- 
vantages were,  however,  dearly  purchased. 
The  siege  of  Gastugni  cost  the  Greeks  se- 
veral valuable  officers,  and  some  of  their 
bravest  troops,  while  that  of  Lalla  exhibited 
on  both  sides  examples  of  bravery  rarely 
equalled.  The  fortress  was  at  length  taken 
by  the  Greeks,  and  Ysouf  Pasha,  who  had 
made  a  forced  march  from  Patras  to  Lalla. 
at  the  head  of  twelve  hundred  cavalry,  in 
order  to  raise  the  siege,  was  routed  by  an 
inferior  number  of  Greeks,  under  Metaxa. 
and  compelled,  with  great  loss,  to  return  to 
Patras,  whither  the  Lalliotes,  with  their 
families,  also  retired. 

This  advantage  gained  by  the  Greeks, 
Over  Ysouf  Pasha  and  his  veteran  troops, 
could  not  tail  to  wound  deeply,  the  pride  of 
that  haughty  commander,  vain-glorious  as 
he  was  of  his  military  prowess,  and  ambi- 
tious of  the  reputation  of  a  conqueror.  His 
chagrin  began  to  evince  itself  immediately 
after  his  return  to  Patras,  in  the  exercise 
of  his  vengeance  on  all  the  Greeks  he  found 
in  that  city.  In  addition  to  this,  many  of 
the  Turks  of  Patras,  had  lost  relatives  and 


75 

friends  in  these  conflicts,  which  stimulated 
them  to  a  barbarous  revenge  on  all  the 
Greeks  who  fell  into  their  hands.  My  life 
was  thus  in  danger  every  hour.  I  scarcely 
went  out  of  the  house,  but  I  saw  numbers 
of  my  unfortunate  countrymen  slaughtered, 
and  lying  dead  about  the  street; — and 
several  times  have  I  been  pursued,  and 
obliged  to  fly  for  my  life. 

On  my  precipitate  return  into  my  mas- 
ter's house,  he  would  ask  me  the  cause  of 
my  hurry  and  perturbation.  On  relating  to 
him  the  butcheries  I  had  just  witnessed 
and  escaped,  he  would  reply  with  the 
greatest  coolness :  "  Yes,  in  a  few  days  you 
will,  all  of  you,  experience  the  same  fate — 
every  Greek  dog  in  the  city  will  surely  be 
killed.  If  you  wish  to  escape,  therefore, 
you  must  renounce  your  religion  and  em- 
brace ours."*  I  told  him,  "  I  had  not  the 
hardihood  to  abandon  my  faith,  and  my 
God."     He  replied :   "  You  will  have  then 

*  A  renunciation  of  my  religion,  would  have  carried 
with  it  a  presumption,  that  it  was  done  voluntarily.  In 
making  it,  therefore,  I  should  have  laid  under  the  imputa- 
tion of  a  traitor  to  my  religion  and  country  ;  and  I  should 
have  been  compelled,  in  case  any  Greeks  fell  into  my 
hands,  to  exercise  the  same  barbarities  towaTd  them  fftat 
weTe  inflicted  on  myself. 


76 

the  hardihood  to  die."  Several  attempts 
were  afterward  made  to  destroy  me  by  as- 
sassination. I  was  frequently  waylaid,  and 
owed  my  rescue  in  several  instances,  to  the 
interference  of  my  master's  friends.  Upon 
these  occasions  my  master  would  labour  to 
convince  me  of  the  expediency  of  changing 
my  religion,  and  of  adopting  one  that 
would  ensure  me  safety ;  adding  that  if  I 
persisted  in  my  obstinate  resolution,  he 
would  surely  give  me  up  to  be  massacred 
like  the  rest  of  my  countrymen. 

My  fears  were  daily  heightened  by  fresh 
successes  of  the  Greeks  in  various  parts  of 
the  Morea.  Every  rumour  of  this  kind 
served  to  exasperate  the  Turks ;  and  was  a 
signal  for  a  new  massacre  of  the  unhappy 
slaves  and  captives  that  fell  into  their 
hands.  My  countrymen  were  now  masters 
of,  or  were  besieging,  almost  all  the  strong 
places  in  the  Morea; — and  the  Turks  at 
Patras  were  in  constant  expectation  of  an 
attack  on  that  city.  In  proportion  to  their 
apprehensions,  their  savage  fury  seemed  to 
increase.  My  countrymen,  many  of  whom 
I  knew,  were  every  day  butchered  before 
my  eyes  like  cattle.  But  death  alone  was 
not  sufficient  to  satiate  the  bloody  ven- 
geance  of  these  monsters.     Old   and   de* 


77 

crepid  women  have  I  seen  shockingly  tor- 
tured and  mutilated,  previous  to  execution. 
Some  of  seventy  and  eighty  years  of  age, 
had  their  legs  and  arms  first  cut  off,  and 
then  their  noses  and  tongues,  and  were 
then  suffered  to  welter  in  their  blood,  till 
their  tormentors  having  glutted  their  ven- 
geance sufficiently  with  such  horrid  scenes 
of  human  agony,  would  at  last  despatch 
them  with  the  scymitar.  Married  women, 
in  many  instances,  had  their  breasts  cut 
off,  after  suffering  the  most  brutal  violence 
and  dishonour.  Nor  did  the  more  youthful 
females  meet  a  less  severe  fate.  They 
were  violated  and  exposed  to  the  vulgar 
mob  in  the  most  brutal  and  disgusting  man- 
ner; abused  with  the  grossest  and  most 
insulting  familiarity,  and  then  put  to  death. 
Little  children  and  babes  mercilessly  whip- 
ped and  beaten  to  death  against  the  walls. 
Many  were  empaled  alive,  and  suffered  to 
remain  till  they  died,  in  that  agonizing  and 
horrible  manner.  I  am  aware  that  descrip- 
tions like  these,  must  shock  the  feelings, 
and  perhaps  stagger  the  credulity  of  a  hu- 
mane and  polished  community, — but  they 
are  facts,  which  I  have  myself  seen,  and 
which  it  would,  no  doubt,  have  been  my 
lot  to  share,  but  for  the  care  of  my  mas- 
7 


78 

ter,  who  with  all  his  great  respect  for  re- 
ligion, and  desire  to  make  a  convert,  had 
still  more  for  the  money  which  I  had  cost 
him. 


CHAPTER  XL 


It  was  remarked  above,  that  the  life  of 
a  slave  has  in  it  but  little  of  variety.  Cut 
off  from  society,  and  forbidden  the  privi- 
lege of  participating  in  the  pursuits  and 
occupations  of  freemen,  he  has  little  con- 
cern with  mankind,  or  mankind  with  him. 
The  only  incidents  that  occur  to  break  the 
uniformly  miserable  tenor  of  his  existence, 
are  the  greater  or  less  degree  of  suffering 
inflicted  and  endured.  The  five  years  of 
my  life  that  wore  away  in  the  misery  of 
slavery,  were  chequered  by  few  events  of 
interest  to  any  but  myself. 

I  have  thought  it  better  to  give  a  brief 
summary  of  some  of  the  leading  events  of 
the  revolution  during  the  period  of  my 
slavery,  than  to  fatigue  the  reader  with  the 
comparatively  unimportant  details  of  my 
own  personal  history. 


79 

The  successes  at  Calavrita,  Calamata, 
Gastugni,  and  Lalla,  served  to  encourage 
and  to  unite  the  Greeks ;  and  their  indig- 
nation was  awakened  by  the  intelligence 
from  every  quarter  of  the  empire,  of  the 
most  atrocious  cruelties  inflicted  on  their 
countrymen. 

The  seraskier,  Reschid  Pasha,  who  was 
employed  before  loannina  in  crushing  the 
rebellion  of  Ali  Pasha,  having  learned  the 
situation  of  affairs  in  the  Morea,  despatched 
Mohammed  Pasha,  his  lieutenant,  with 
6000  Albanian  cavalry,  to  check  the  pro- 
gress of  the  revolt.  Mohammed  crossed 
the  gulf  of  Corinth,  and  entered  Patras 
with  great  parade.  After  remaining  seve- 
ral days,  he  set  out  for  Tripolitza,  a  strong 
castle  in  the  south,  then  invested  by  Colo- 
cot  roni  with  a  small  body  of  Arcadians. 
The  scattering  bands  of  unorganized  pea- 
santry, fled  at  his  approach.  He  ravaged 
the  interior  of  the  Morea,  spreading  havoc 
and  desolation  wherever  he  came,  plun- 
dering and  burning  the  towns,  and  butch- 
ering the  defenceless  inhabitants.  After 
drenching  the  interior  with  blood,  he  ap- 
peared before  Tripolitza,  and  compelled 
Colocotroni  to  raise  the  blockade  and  retire. 
Assuming  the  command  of  the  city,  he  com- 


80 

menced  a  system  of  predatory  warfare, 
plundering  and  destroying  the  neighbouring 
villages  and  their  inhabitants.  In  one  of 
his  expeditions,  he  fell  in  with  Nicetas,  one 
of  the  Grecian  captains,  who  on  that  occa- 
sion distinguished  himself  by  a  display  of 
singular  bravery. 

Having  halted  in  a  small  hamlet,  with 
only  fifty  followers,  Nicetas  was  suddenly 
attacked  by  Mohammed  in  person,  with 
more  than  three  thousand  men,  and  three 
pieces  of  cannon.  Undismayed  by  such 
tremendous  odds,  Nicetas  took  his  mea- 
sures with  such  consummate  skill,  and  made 
so  gallant  and  effectual  a  resistance,  that 
the  enemy  were  repulsed  with  great  loss, 
and  made  a  precipitate  retreat,  leaving 
among  the  slain  Ali  Bey,  the  second  in 
command.  Enraged  at  this  defeat,  Mo- 
hammed resolved  to  try  his  fortune  against 
Colocotroni,  who,  with  a  small  body  of  light 
infantry,  was  posted  at  Valdezza,  near 
Tripolitza.  Counting  on  success  with  the 
greatest  assurance,  he  permitted  his  troops 
to  pass  the  night  before  the  attack  in  jollity 
and  military  dances.  He  was,  however, 
wofully  mistaken.  In  the  situation* 
wherein  they  were  compelled  to  act,  the 
superiority  of  his  numbers  was  of  no  avail 


81 

His  cavalry,  which  in  the  plain  would  have 
prostrated  the  Grecian  phalanx  at  a  blow: 
were,  among  rocks  and  precipices,  unable 
to  act  with  union  or  effect,  and  were  soon 
thrown  into  disorder,  and  repulsed  by  the 
fire  of  the  Grecian  infantry.  A  vigorous 
attack  in  flank  completed  the  defeat,  and  a 
total  rout  ensued.  Two  hundred  Turks, 
and  a  great  number  of  Albanians,  were 
killed.  The  rest  fled  to  Tripolitza,  leaving 
behind  them  their  arms  and  ammunition. 

Mohammed  dared  not  appear  in  the  field 
after  this  disaster,  but  immediately  shut 
himself  up  in  Tripolitza,  which  was  in- 
vested by  Ypsilanti. 

The  Greek  navy  had,  at  this  time,  the 
complete  command  of  the  .ZEgean.  An 
attempt  of  the  Turks,  with  a  formidable 
fleet,  to  recover  their  ascendency  in  that 
sea,  proved  abortive ;  and  served  no  other 
purpose,  than  to  afford  Kanaris,  the  Greek 
admiral,  an  opportunity,  by  means  of  his 
fire-ships,  of  destroying  many,  and  dispers- 
ing the  rest  of  the  enemy's  fleet,  and  of 
achieving  one  of  the  most  glorious  naval 
exploits  on  record. 

The  destruction  of  the  Turkish  fleet,  filled 
the  Greeks  with  enthusiastic  joy,  and  the 
Divan,    with    the    most    vindictive    rage. 


82 

Massacres  of  the  Christians  were  renewed 
throughout  every  part  of  the  empire.  In 
some  parts,  whole  settlements  were  exter- 
minated. In  Asia  Minor,  where  no  symp- 
toms of  revolt  had  been  shown,  or  contem- 
plated, several  cities  were  completely  depo- 
pulated with  the  sword. 

An  attempt  of  the  Turkish  forces  in  the 
north  of  Greece,  to  enter  the  Morea  by  the 
strait  of  Thermopylae,  was  frustrated  by 
Ulysses,  who,  at  the  head  of  the  Boeotian 
peasantry,  drove  back  the  invaders  with 
great  loss. 

The  important  fortress  of  Tripolitza,  one 
of  the  strongest  in  the  Morea,  and  the 
Turkish  head-quarters,  was  after  a  long  and 
bloody  siege,  both  by  land  and  sea,  forced  to 
capitulate  on  the  7th  of  October,  1821. 

Soon  after,  the  strong  and  important  cita- 
del of  Corinth,  which  commands  the  gulf  of 
that  name,  and  the  entrance  to  the  Morea. 
was  surrendered  to  the  Greeks,  and,  on  ac- 
count of  its  strength  and  security,  made  the 
seat  of  government. 

A  squadron  of  Turkish  and  Barbary  ves- 
sels were,  about  this  time,  attacked  by  the 
Greek  admirals,  off  the  coast  of  Messenia. 
and,  by  means  of  the  fire-ships  of  Kanaris, 
were  routed  and  dispersed. 


83 

In  March,  1822,  was  committed  one  of 
the  most  horrible  deeds  of  barbarity  that 
ever  disgraced  the  annals  of  the  world. 
The  beautiful  island  of  Scio,  containing  a 
population  of  about  110,000  persons,  distin- 
guished for  their  wealth,  hospitality,  intelli- 
gence, and  literature,  was,  while  in  a  state 
of  loyal  and  quiet  submission  to  the  Porte, 
attacked  by  a  Turkish  fleet  of  fifty  sail,  fill- 
ed with  troops,  and  a  general  massacre  com- 
menced,of  men,  women,  and  children,  which 
after  continuing  three  weeks,  without  inter- 
mission, was  terminated  only  by  the  com- 
plete extermination  of  the  unoffending  and 
ill-fated  inhabitants. 

Soon  after  the  massacre  at  Scio,  the  ca- 
pudan  pasha,or  Turkish  admiral,  the  monster 
who  had  perpetrated  that  horrible  tragedy, 
was,  while  his  fleet  were  lying  in  the  gulf  of 
Adrameti,  formerly  Adramytium,  attacked 
in  the  night  by  Kanaris,  with  his  fire-ships, 
and  himself,  his  ship,  and  every  soul  on  board, 
destroyed,  and  the  fleet  entirely  dispersed. 

The  army  of  Reschid  Pasha  being  set  at 
liberty,  by  the  overthrow  and  death  of  Ali 
Pasha,  now  set  out  for  the  Morea,  in  two 
divisions.  The  one  was  to  cross  the  moun- 
tains, traverse  eastern  Greece,  and  raise  the 
siege  of  Corinth :  the  other  was  to  descend 


84 

through  western  Greece,  reduce  Missolong- 
hi,  then  in  possession  of  the  Greeks,  thence 
to  cross  the  gulf  at  Patras,  and  the  two  di- 
visions were  to  rendezvous  before  Tripo- 
litza,  and  attempt  the  recovery  of  that 
city. 

Prince  Mavrocordato,  accompanied  by 
Marco  Bozzaris,  marched,  with  a  body  of 
troops,  from  Missolonghi,  to  check  the  pro- 
gress of  the  western  division  of  the  Turkish 
army.  This  enterprise  was  unsuccessful, 
and  the  Greeks  were  forced  to  retreat  be- 
fore superior  numbers.  In  this  expedition, 
a  battalion  of  European  volunteers,  compo- 
sed wholly  of  officers  who  had  served  with 
reputation  in  the  armies  of  Europe,  and 
commanded  by  General  Normann,  a  gallant 
and  veteran  German  officer,  with  some  Ce- 
phalenians,  formed  the  advanced  guard  of 
the  army.  This  guard  being,  by  some  mis- 
chance, separated  from  the  main  body,  was 
suddenly  attacked  and  surrounded  by  the 
whole  Turkish  army.  A  display  of  heroism 
ensued,  not,  perhaps,  surpassed  in  military 
history.  Recollecting  their  former  noble 
achievements,  and  inspired  with  sentiments 
of  glory,  these  brave  men  disdained  to  sur- 
render, but  maintained  their  ground  for 
several  hours    against  the  overwhelming 


85 

weight  of  the  enemy.  They  fell  gloriously 
on  the  field,  after  performing  prodigies  of 
valour.  Their  heroic  leader,  alone,  esca- 
ped, with  a  severe  wound  This  battle  was 
fought  near  the  city  of  Arta. 

In  June,  the  acropolis  of  Athens,  after 
a  vigorous  siege,  was  surrendered  to  the 
Greeks;  and  the  garrison,  consisting  of 
eleven  hundred  Turks,  were  conveyed  to 
the  coast  of  Asia  Minor. 

After  a  long  and  close  siege,  the  castle 
of  Napoli  di  Romania,  the  strongest  for- 
tress in  all  Greece,  was  obliged  to  agree  to 
terms  of  capitulation. 

The  generous  Ypsilanti,  to  preserve  the 
lives  and  property  of  the  garrison,  had 
agreed  to  an  armistice  of  forty  days,  that 
they  might  gradually  retire  by  sea  without 
molestation  from  the  Greek  soldiery.  But 
this  compact  was  frustrated,  and  the  entire 
destruction  of  Greece  menaced  by  the 
sudden  appearance  in  Thessaly,  of  an  army 
of  thirty  thousand  Turks  and  Albanians, 
under  the  command  of  Machmoud  Pasha, 
which  poured  down  like  a  deluge  through 
Thessaly,  sweeping  all  before  it  in  its  deso- 
lating course. 

To  stem  this  torrent  was  impossible,  in 
the  broken  and  dispersed  state  of  the  pa- 


86 

triot  army.  A  considerable  portion  of  the 
Greek  force,  under  Mavrocordato,  with 
Marco  Bozzaris,  was  blocked  by  Omar 
Bey,  at  Missolonghi.  Colocotroni  with  a 
few  hundred  men,  was  before  Patras.  Yp- 
silanti  and  Nicetas,  with  an  inconsiderable 
force,  were  encamped  before  Napoli  di 
Romania;  and  Ulysses  and  the  other  par- 
tisan leaders,  with  a  few  light  troops,  occu- 
pied the  passes  of  Bceotia. 

In  this  state  of  danger  and  general  dis- 
may, Ypsilanti  and  Colocotroni  raised  the 
sieges  of  Napoli  and  Patras,  and  rendez- 
voused with  their  handful  of  troops  in  the 
plain  of  Argolis.  Meanwhile,  Machmoud 
had  forced  his  way  through  all  the  passes 
of  Bckotia,  committing  in  his  march,  rava- 
ges unparalleled  in  savage  warfare.  A 
wide-spread  scene  of  havoc  and  desola- 
tion marked  the  track  of  the  vindictive 
barbarian. 

He  at  length,  penetrated  to  Corinth, 
where  the  congress  was  sitting.  The 
members  escaped  on  board  a  Greek  squa- 
dron that  lay  in  the  gulf  of  Corinth,  after 
investing  Ypsilanti,  Colocotroni,  and  Ma- 
vromichalis,  with  full  powers,  and  commit- 
ting to  their  hands  the  destinies  of  their 
country. 


87 

Unable  to  cope  with  so  overwhelming  a 
force  in  the  field,  the  Greek  captains  dis- 
tributed their  troops  into  small  bands,  and 
taking  advantage  of  favourable  positions, 
hung  upon  and  continually  annoyed  the 
flank  and  rear  of  the  advancing  enemy. 
The  peasantry  and  mountaineers  of  the 
circumjacent  country,  came  forth  and  joined 
the  ranks  of  their  defenders ;  and  the  crops 
on  the  plains  of  Argos  were  destroyed  to 
prevent  their  atfording  sustenance  to  the 
enemy.  The  Turkish  general  soon  found 
himself  and  his  army  in  a  most  deplorable 
condition.  Harassed  continually  by  the 
Greek  scouts,  weakened  by  famine,  and 
wasted  by  a  mortal  disease  which  began  to 
prevail  among  them,  this  formidable  army 
was  soon  compelled  to  retreat.  Nicetas, 
posted  in  the  defiles  of  Argos,  and  Coloco- 
troni  pressing  their  rear,  made  havoc  of  the 
retiring  enemy.  Of  an  army  of  thirty 
thousand  men,  seven  thousand  only  could  be 
mustered  before .  Corinth,  and  those  were 
so  reduced  by  hunger,  sickness,  and  fatigue, 
as  to  be  almost  incapable  of  resistance.  In 
this  dreadful  situation,  Machmoud  received 
a  fresh  order  from  the  seraskier,  censuring 
his  retreat,  and  commanding  him  to  ad- 
vance again  into  Argos,  and  relieve  Na~ 


88 

poli,  which  Ypsilanti  had  again  invested 
A  new  effort  of  Machmoud,  in  obedience  to 
this  unreasonable  and  unfeeling  mandate, 
completed  the  entire  destruction  of  that 
army,  which  a  short  time  before,  threatened 
utter  ruin  and  extermination  to  Greece. 

The  brave  Kanaris,  about  the  same  time, 
put  to  flight,  by  means  of  his  fire-ships,  a 
formidable  fleet  that  had  come  to  the  relief 
of  Napoli ;  destroying  the  ship  of  the  capu- 
dan  pasha,  and  every  soul  on  board.  The 
garrison  of  JNapoli  di  Romania,  sorely 
pressed  by  famine,  and  despairing  of  relief, 
soon  after  capitulated,  and  were  transported 
to  Asia  Minor. 

A  nocturnal  assault  on  Missolonghi,  made 
soon  after  this,  was  gloriously  repelled  by 
Mavrocordato  and  Marco  Bozzaris.  The 
morning  light  discovered  one  thousand 
Turks  lying  dead  before  the  walls.  The 
Greek  loss  was  only  fifty  in  killed  and 
wounded. 

On  the  night  of  the  19th  of  July,  1823, 
was  fought  the  celebrated  battle  of  Karpe- 
nitza,  on  the  frontier  of  Acarnania,  where 
Marco  Bozzaris,  with  two  thousand  men, 
surprised  and  cut  to  pieces  the  whole  army 
of  Mustapha  Pasha,  consisting  of  fourteen 
thousand,     Bozzaris  fell ;  to  the  inexpressi- 


89 

hie  grief  of  his  country,  and  has  left  behind 
him  a  character,  which  will  command  the 
esteem  and  admiration  of  mankind  as  long 
as  sterling  virtue  and  true  heroism  are  ap- 
proved and  valued. 

In  1824,  Lord  Byron  arrived  in  Greece, 
to  the  great  joy  of  the  people,  and  immedi- 
ately enlisted  a  regiment  at  his  own  expense, 
and  placed  himself  under  the  command 
of  Prince  Mavrocordato.  Housref  Pasha, 
with  a  tremendous  fleet,  made  a  descent 
this  year  on  Ipsara.  a  little  populous  island, 
lying  a  few  leagues  west  of  Scio.  Here 
the  tragedy  of  Scio  was  acted  over  again. 
All  the  inhabitants  who  were  unable  to 
escape,  by  means  of  a  few  small  vessels  that 
lay  in  the  harbour,  were  slaughtered,  and 
the  city  burnt.  Miaulis,  one  of  the  Greek 
admirals,  with  his  squadron,  arrived  soon 
after  the  massacre,  and  drove  all  the  Turks 
that  remained  on  the  island  into  the  sea, 
and  chased  a  portion  of  the  Turkish  squad- 
ron on  shore,  on  the  rocks  of  Scio. 

Housref  had  sailed  with  the  main  portion 
of  the  fleet  to  the  channel  of  Samos.  In 
this  situation,  he  was  attacked  by  the  brave 
Kanaris,  who  by  means  of  his  fire-ships, 
completely  dispersed  it  and  drove  him,  with 
8 


90 

the  remnant  of  his  squadron,  to  the  Dar- 
danelles. 

In  the  spring  of  1824,  a  most  formidable 
fleet,  composed  of  the  combined  Turkish 
and  Egyptian  squadrons;  consisting  of  more 
than  200  ships  of  war  and  transports,  most 
of  them  under  the  flag  of  Austria !  with 
20,000  infantry,  and  a  large  body  of  ca- 
valry, commanded  for  the  most  part  by 
European  officers!  with  vast  supplies  of 
artillery,  ammunition,  and  provisions,  ap- 
peared off  the  coast  of  Syria.  The  slow 
passage  of  this  tremendous  armament  to- 
wards the  iEgean  was  closely  watched  by 
the  Greek  admirals ;  who  with  their  little 
squadrons,  consisting  of  about  seventy  light 
vessels,  hovered  about  it,  skirmishing  oc- 
casionally, and  annoying  it  in  its  progress. 
At  length,  some  Greek  fire-ships  were  sent 
among  the  fleet,  which  did  such  execution, 
that  the  Turkish  part  of  the  squadron  fled 
in  the  greatest  consternation.  After  an 
ineffectual  descent  upon  the  island  of  Sa- 
mos,  the  combined  fleets  formed  a  junction 
in  the  channel  of  Scio.  Thither  they  were 
*  pursued  by  the  Greek  squadron,  com- 
manded by  Miaulis,  Sakturi,  and  Kanaris. 
The  Greeks,  with  theirfire-ships,  bore  down 


91 

on  the  enemy's  line,  and  soon  after,  several 
of  his  vessels  were  enveloped  in  flames,  and 
the  whole  fleet  dispersed.  The  Turkish 
squadron  fled  to  Constantinople.  The 
Egyptians  stood  for  Candia.  The  Greek 
admirals  pursued  them,  and  attacking  them 
on  the  coast  of  that  island,  burned,  sunk, 
captured,  and  dispersed  the  remainder  of 
this  armament,  which  had  at  its  first  appear- 
ance, threatened  imminent  peril  to  Greece, 
and  filled  its  inhabitants  with  the  utmost 
consternation. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  events  of  the  re- 
volution, that  occurred  while  I  was  a  slave. 
They  are  selected  almost  at  random  from 
the  general  mass  of  incidents  with  which 
the  history  of  that  calamitous  but  glorious 
period  abounds.  They  are  introduced  here 
to  fill  up  a  blank  in  my  own  existence.  It 
must  be  confessed,  that  such  dull  and  bar- 
ren generalities  convey  no  just  idea  of  the 
actions  or  events  which  they  notice,  to 
many  of  which,  a  full  and  true  description 
would  give  an  air  of  romance.  Such  a 
specimen  as  I  have  given,  may,  however, 
lead  the  reader  to  inquire  further  into  the; 
character  of  my  countrymen,  to  peruse  the 
history  of  their  wrongs  and  sufferings,  and 
to  contemplate  a  series  of  deeds,  which  have 


92 


evinced  their  leaders  to  be  no  unworthy 
descendants  of  Miltiades,  Epaminondas,  and 
Thrasybulus. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


I  now  return  to  pursue  the  thread  of  my 
own  history.  During  the  period  of  my  cap- 
tivity, the  city  of  Patras  was  several  times 
besieged,  and  once  was  taken  by  a  body  of 
Ionians,  under  Mavrocordato.  The  citadel 
was,  however,  so  strong,  and  the  garrison  so 
numerous,  that  all  attempts  to  reduce  it, 
failed.  While  the  city  was  invested,  the 
Greek  slaves  in  the  citadel  were  confined  in 
dungeons,  and  subjected  to  every  species  of 
cruelty  and  indignity.  I,  among  the  rest, 
was  shut  up  in  my  old  dungeon,  and,  for 
some  time,  experienced  the  same  barbarous 
treatment,  and  the  same  mean  fare,  that  I 
have  already  described. 

At  those  times,  when  the  Greeks  threa- 
tened an  assault  upon  the  city,  my  master 
sent  his  family,  for  the  greater  security, 
across  the  gulf  of  Corinth,  to  the  city  of 


93 

Lepanto.  His  duty,  as  commissary  to  the 
garrison,  compelled  him  to  reside  either  at 
the  city,  or  at  the  castle  Moraitico,  a 
strong  fortress,  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the 
gulf.  I  used  to  accompany  him  in  his 
journeys  between  the  two  places,  he  riding 
on  horseback,  and  I  following  him  on  foot. 

One  great  source  of  misfortune  to  me, 
during  the  whole  period  of  my  slavery,  was 
the  cruel  and  capricious  temper  of  my  mis- 
tress. She  would  sometimes  treat  me  with 
a  show  of  kindness.  At  other  times,  with- 
out any  known  cause,  or  reason,  she  would 
heap  upon  me  all  the  obloquy  of  which  she 
was  capable,  and,  by  false  colourings,  and 
misrepresentations  of  my  carriage  toward 
her,  wonld  often  instigate  rriy  master  to  the 
infliction  of  undeserved  and  rigorous  pu- 
nishment. Indeed,  little  instigation  to  se- 
verity, or  cruelty,  is  necessary  to  a  Turk, 
when  a  slave  and  a  Christian  is  the  victim. 

On  one  occasion,  merely  for  looking  at- 
tentively in  her  face,  (the  better  to  learn  the 
import  of  some  orders  she  was  giving  me 
in  the  Turkish  language,  which  I  did  not 
well  understand,)  she,  with  much  anger,  and 
in  a  loud  tone,  told  me,  that  I  knew  that 
her  religion  did  not  allow  such  familiarity 
between  men  and  women ;  and  that  the  ten- 
8* 


94 

dency  of  my  looking  her  in  her  face,  would 
be  to  pervert  her  mind ;  her  anger  rose  still 
higher,  when  I  told  her,  that  it  was  the 
custom  of  my  country  to  attend  to  those 
with  whom  we  were  conversing,  and  she 
immediately  sent  me  to  my  master,  with  a 
request,  that  I  might  be  severely  punished, 
My  master,  to  gratify  her  spleen,  immedi- 
ately inflicted  on  me  one  hundred  and  fifty 
strokes  of  the  bastinado. 

The  blood,  during  this  dreadful  operation, 
oozed  from  beneath  the  nails  of  my  toes, 
and,  in  a  short  time,  my  teet  swelled  to  such 
an  enormous  size,  and  were  so  exceedingly 
painful,  that  I  was  unable  to  walk,  or  even 
to  stand.  A  composition  of  salt  and  onions, 
beaten  together,  was  applied  to  th$  soles  of 
my  feet,  and  I  was  immediately  thrown  into 
my  former  dungeon. 

At  another  time,  for  something  I  had 
said,  which  was  construed  into  disrespect, 
my  master  sewed  my  mouth  :  piercing  my 
lips  with  a  large  needle,  and  inserting  a 
wire.  In  this  situation,  I  was  kept  about 
thirty  hours,  unable  to  speak,  or  to  receive 
any  nourishment. 

My  tedious  •life  thus  wore  away,  till  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1825;  at  which  time, 
the  castle  Moraitico  was  visited  bv  sever ai 


95 

Italian  vessels,  for  the  purpose  of  traffick. 
These  vessels  usually  lay  in  the  bay  for 
two  or  three  days,  making  arrangements 
with  Ysouf  Pasha,  for  leave  to  visit  the 
Grecian  ports,  in  the  gulf  of  Corinth,  and 
such  other  places  as  might  be  occupied  by 
Greek  citizens,  or  were  subject  to  the  au- 
thority of  the  Greek  commanders.  In  these 
licenses,  the  pasha  drove  a  secret,  but  very 
profitable  trade ;  inasmuch  as  these  captains 
commonly  paid,  for  such  permission  of  the 
pasha  to  traffick,  a  premium  of  twelve  per 
cent,  upon  all  articles  of  merchandise  which 
they  disposed  of  to  the  Greeks.  These  ar- 
ticles included  various  kinds  of  provisions, 
wool,  cotton,  currants,  and  oil.  This  trade 
would  have  been  far  less  advantageous  to  the 
traders  than  to  the  pasha,  had  they  not  taken 
care  to  add  these  charges  as  well  as  their 
own  commissions,  to  the  price  of  the  commo- 
dities disposed  of  to  my  countrymen,  whose 
necessity  compelled  them  to  purchase  at 
whatever  price  was  demanded.  My  master, 
who  was  commissary  of  that  place,  had 
frequent  transactions  with  these  capitani, 
in  purchasing  provisions  for  the  garrison. 
I  sought,  a  long  time,  for  a  favourable  op- 
portunity to  address  some  of  these  men,  and 
to  communicate  to  them  a  knowledge  of  my 


96 

situation.  My  courage  failed  me,  on  seve- 
ral occasions,  when  I  was  on  the  point  of 
making  this  communication,  forasmuch  as 
they  were  generally  men  who,  by  their  oc- 
cupations, (partly  trader,  and  partly  pirate,) 
were  accustomed  and  inured  to  every  spe- 
cies of  dishonesty  ;  and  whom  no  tie,  but 
that  of  interest,  could  bind.  These  rovers 
were,  also,  generally  hostile  in  feeling,  to 
the  Greeks,  by  whose  admirals  they  had 
been  often  chastised,  lor  their  piracies,  in 
the  Ionian  and  iEgean  seas,  although  in- 
terest prompted  them  to  disguise  their  ha- 
tred, and  to  carry  on  an  apparently  cordial 
trade.  Any  communication  with  such  men. 
I  was  fearful  might  be  betrayed,  and  reli- 
ance upon  them  might  fatally  prejudice  the 
purpose  I  was  meditating.  Had  they 
known  of  my  situation,  and  inclination  to 
escape,  their  sense  of  morals  would  not. 
probably,  have  prevented  them  from  enti- 
cing, or  stealing  me  away.  There  was  no 
sufficient  motive  of  interest,  however,  to  in- 
duce them  to  run  the  hazard  of  incurring 
the  heavy  penalty  inflicted  for  that  offence. 
It  is  probable,  therefore,  that  instead  of  aid- 
ing my  escape,  they  would  have  betrayed 
my  secret  to  my  master,  as  well  to  secure 
his  favour  and  confidence,  as  to  gratify  their 
vindictive  feelings  towards  a  Greek. 


97 

There  happened  to  arrive,  however,  at 
castle  Moraitico,  about  the  middle  of  Ja- 
nuary, 1825,  an  Italian  vessel,  under  the 
command  of  a  Genoese,  named  Spalla.  This 
man  was  totally  unacquainted  with  either 
the  Turkish  or  the  Greek  languages.  He 
brought  out  a  cargo  of  provisions,  consisting 
of  rice,  corn,  fruits,  biscuits,  and  other  com- 
modities. My  master  wished  to  purchase 
this  cargo  for  the  use  of  the  garrison  ;  and 
as  I  was  the  only  person  of  his  household  who 
understood  Italian,  I  was  chosen,  by  good 
fortune,  as  the  interpreter  between  them. 
Of  this  opportunity,  I  took  advantage.  The 
captain  and  myself  entered  into  conversa- 
tion together, — and  as  I  knew  his  inability 
to  betray  my  confidence,  I  disclosed  to  him 
my  situation  without  reserve.  This  was  all 
in  the  presence  of  my  master  and  several 
other  Turks,  who  did  not  suspect,  that  in 
carrying  on  his  negotiation,  I  was  at  the 
same  time,  negotiating  for  my  own  liberty, 
I  represented  to  the  Italian,  as  well  as  I 
was  able,  the  cruelties  and  privations  I  had 
suffered,  and  my  anxious  desire  to  escape 
from  a  state  of  slavery  so  dangerous  and 
dreadful.  He  was  touched  with  pity,  and 
sympathised  sincerely  with  me  in  my  afflic- 
tions, inquired  with  much  earnestness,  re> 


98 

specting  my  family ;  and  on  learning  that 
my  name  was  Stephanini,  observed  that 
he  was  familiar  with  the  name,  having 
often  heard  of  my  father  from  the  Italian 
merchants,  with  whom  he  was  acquainted. 
He  took  special  care  to  inspire  me  with 
hope  and  confidence  in  heaven.  He  told 
me  that  he  could  not  conceal  from  me,  that 
my  enterprise,  would,  if  undertaken,  be  at- 
tended with  great  and  peculiar  danger, 
both  to  myself,  and  to  those  that  might  as- 
sist me.  He  asked  me  if  I  could  brave 
death,  in  order  to  effect  my  freedom ;  and 
told  me  at  length,  if  I  had  sufficient  confi- 
dence in  my  own  courage,  to  attempt  the 
experiment,  he  would  contribute  all  the 
means  in  his  power  to  effect  my  deliver- 
ance. I  was  not  long  in  forming  my  reso- 
lution. I  blessed  him  as  my  friend  and 
benefactor,  and  expressed  with  confidence 
the  strong  desire  I  felt,  and  the  hazards  1 
would  willingly  incur,  to  escape  from  my 
thraldom. 

A  subsequent  meeting  completed  our  ar- 
rangements. In  about  ten  days  after  this, 
his  business  being  finished,  and  his  vessel 
ready  to  sail,  the  captain  called  on  me  and 
said ;  *  My  friend,  the  time  of  your  eman- 
cipation has,  I  hope,  arrived.     Put  your 


99 

trust  in  God,  and  follow  my  directions.  I 
am  now  ready  for  my  departure.  Come 
to  the  small  wharf,  that  runs  into  the  gulf 
beyond  the  castle  Maraitico,  this  evening, 
at  eight  o'clock,  precisely,  and  I  and  my 
crew  will  be  there  waiting  for  you  with  a 
boat."  I  had  not  words  to  express  my  gra- 
titude. I  embraced  my  benefactor.  He 
left  me,  and  the  time  drew  near.  The  min- 
gled emotions  of  joy,  of  gratitude,  of  fear, 
that  agitated  my  mind,  it  is  impossible  to 
describe.  My  frame  trembled  like  an  aspen 
leaf.  I  had  three  miles  to  go  by  land,  and 
every  step  of  this  distance  lay  among  ene- 
mies and  barbarians,  who  would  have 
thought  no  more  of  the  murder  of  a  Greek 
than  of  the  destruction  of  a  dangerous  or 
offensive  beast ; — but  the  apprehensions  of 
death  weigh  but  little  with  the  slave  who 
has  the  glorious  prospect  of  liberty  before 
his  eyes.  In  the  worst  event,  he  is  released 
from  a  life  of  weariness  and  wo ;  "a  con- 
summation devoutly  to  be  wished."  I 
loaded  with  care  an  old  pistol  my  master 
had  given  me  a  year  or  two  before,  in  a  fit 
of  uncommon  kindness,  and  having  offered 
up  my  earnest  prayers  to  God  for  his  gui- 
dance and  aid,  in  this  season  of  peril ;  I 
watched  my  opportunity,  and  seizing  a  fa- 


100 

vourable  moment,  when  none  were  obser- 
ving me,  I  left  the  house.  I  walked  preci- 
pitately through  the  streets  in  the  dark.  I 
dared  not  run,  lest  I  should  be  suspected  by 
the  Turkish  soldiers  and  citizens  whom  I 
was  meeting  every  moment.  I  walked  on  ; 
my  heart  beating  violently,  my  knees  tot- 
tering, and  my  breath  almost  suspended. 
I  at  length  reached  the  wharf  in  safety.  A 
tutelary  angel  seemed  to  watch  over  and 
direct  me.  The  boat  was  ready,  and  had 
been  sometime  waiting.  I  sprang  on  board 
— we  put  off  in  an  instant,  and  were  soon  on 
board  the  vessel.  I  fell  on  my  knees,  and 
returned  thanks  to  God  for  my  deliverance; 
nor  did  I  forget  my  obligations  to  the  man 
who  had  been  its  instrument. 

The  captain  took  care  to  have  my  hair 
cut  and  my  Turkish  habiliments  exchanged 
for  others  of  Italian  make,  with  a  view  to 
my  security  from  the  straggling  glance  of 
any  occasional  visiter  from  the  Turkish 
fleet,  through  which  we  were  obliged  to  pass. 
My  Turkish  garments  he  rolled  up,  with 
a  large  stone,  and  committed  them  to  the 
gulf.  He  then  sent  me  down  into  the  hold 
of  the  vessel,  where  I  was  kept  concealed 
until  he  could  prepare  a  water  cask  for  my 
reception.     Into  this  vessel  I  was  put  forth- 


101 

with,  and  never  did  I  enter  a  dungeon  with 
so  hearty  a  good  will  as  on  this  occasion. 
It  was  well  that  I  had  been  secreted  with 
so  much  expedition.  My  flight  had  become 
known,  and  I  was  sought  for  through  the 
whole  town.  In  the  fortress,  wherever 
a  man  could  possibly  be  secreted,  I  was 
searched  for ;  and  at  last  the  search  was 
directed  to  the  very  vessel  of  which  I  was 
a  silent  inmate.  The  officers  of  the  castle 
came  on  board  early  in  the  morning,  and 
<3very  part  of  the  vessel  where  I  was  not3 
was  closely  inspected.  When  they  com- 
menced their  investigations  in  the  part 
where  I  was,  the  captain,  by  the  judicious 
distribution  of  a  few  dozen  of  piastres' 
among  them,  convinced  them  at  once  that 
further  search  was  needless ;  and  they  left 
the  vessel,  apparently  with  the  fullest  confi- 
dence that  all  was  right  on  board.  Thus 
the  captain's  piastres  had  the  effect  to  pre- 
serve my  life,  his  property  from  confisca- 
tion, and  himself  and  his  crew  from  a  life 
of  slavery. 

Having  obtained  a  license  from  the  com- 
mandant, we  immediately  sailed  from  be- 
neath the  castle  of  Patras,  and  by  the 
blessing  of  God,  were  soon  out  of  the 
reach  of  its  guns,  as  well  as  of  those  of  X\m. 
9 


102 

Turkish  fleet,  and  in  a  few  hours  we  had 
the  satisfaction  to  find  ourselves  free  from 
danger,  and  with  a  favourable  breeze 
smoothly  gliding  over  the  broad  waters  of 
the  Ionian  sea. 

Our  vessel  was  bound  to  Smyrna,  a  city 
in  Asia  Minor;  and  our  passage  thither 
was  speedy  and  pleasant.  Our  course  lay 
along  between  the  Ionian  isles  and  the  main, 
thence  around  the  coast  of  the  Peloponne- 
sus to  Cape  St.  Angelo,  (the  ancient  Malea,) 
whence  we  stretched  across  the  iEgean  sea ; 
steering  along,  through  the  channels  formed 
by  its  beautiful  islands :  so  famous  in  "  elder 
days." 

In  the  Ionian  sea,  we  passed  the  large 
and  beautiful  island  of  Cephalenia;  and 
saw,  at  a  distance  to  the  north,  Ithaca,  the 
ancient  kingdom  of  Ulysses,  whose  rugged 
hills  and  rocky  shores,  were  celebrated  3000 
years  ago,  by  the  muse  of  Homer.  We 
passed,  also,  near  the  shore  of  Zacynthus, 
(now  Zante,)  one  of  the  most  delightful,  fer- 
tile, and  populous  islands  of  the  east.  We 
saw  the  coast  of  Pylos,  (now  Navarino,)  ce- 
lebrated by  Homer  as  the  seat  of  the  vene- 
rable Nestor ;  and  left,  on  the  right  hand, 
Gerigo,  (formerly  Cythera,)  renowned  in 
ancient  story  as  the  favourite  residence  of 


103 

Venus,  and  famous  for  its  temple  dedicated 
to  that  goddess.  Proceeding  along,  we 
passed  in  sight  of  the  large  and  beautiful 
islands  of  Milo,  (anciently  Melos,)  Tenos, 
and  Andros,  as  well  as  of  the  smaller  ones 
of  Scyros  and  Ipsara  ;#  all  of  which  have  a 
place  in  ancient  song,  and  will  readily  occur 
to  the  recollection  of  the  scholar.  These 
charming  isles,  in  spite  of  the  lapse  of  thirty 
centuries,  and  the  frequent  ravages  of  bar- 
barians, present  as  lofty  mountains,  as  ver- 
dant plains,  as  commodious  havens,  as 
healthful  skies,  and  as  picturesque  pros- 
pects, as  they  did,  when  they  received  their 
immortality  from  the  pen  of  Homer. 

We  arrived  in  the  harbour  of  Smyrna, 
after  a  passage  of  eight  days  from  Patras. 
This  city  is  the  principal  port  of  Asia  Mi- 
nor, and  carries  on  an  extensive  maritime 
commerce  with  various  parts  of  Europe  and 
America,  and  an  inland  trade  with  the 
neighbouring  Asiatic  provinces.  It  is  in- 
habited principally  by  Turks,  though  the 
streets  are  thronged  by  merchants  and  tra- 
vellers, from  various  parts  of  the  world. 
There  are  to  be  seen  assembled,  Americans, 

*  At  the  time  of  the  massacre  of  the  inhabitants  of 
this  little  island,  I  was  told,  that  many  of  the  wives  and 
daughters  were  killed  by  their  husbands  and  fathers,  to 
prevent  their  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Turks. 


104 

English,  French,  Italians,  Turks,  Greeks, 
Armenians,  Austrians,  Egyptians,  Alge- 
rines,  Jews,  &c,  &>c.  &c.  In  a  word,  the 
population  of  Smyrna,  represents  most  all 
the  varieties  of  the  human  race,  and  afford 
a  picture  of  the  world  in  miniature,  'yiio 
city  is  governed  by  a  Turkish  bey,  and 
is,  I  should  judge,  about  the  size  of  Boston. 
in  New  England.  There  are  extensive 
salt-works  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  city. 
Unwilling  to  run  the  hazard  of  a  second 
captivity,  I  did  not,  at  first,  venture  on 
shore,  but  remained  as  close  as  possible,  on 
board  the  vessel.  I  was  persuaded  at  last, 
by  the  solicitations  of  the  captain,  to  ac- 
company him  once  on  shore.  On  that  oc- 
casion, I  saw  many  of  my  countrymen  in  a 
state  of  the  most  wretched  slavery ;  others 
were  famishing  with  want,  and  all  were  in 
the  greatest  affliction  and  distress.  I  was 
told,  that  a  short  time  before,  while  the 
Greeks  were  assembled  in  their  houses  of 
worship,  on  a  Sunday  morning,  they  were 
beset  and  surrounded  by  the  Turkish  troops, 
sword  in  hand,  who  inhumanly  butchered 
a  great  many  of  them,  in  cold  blood,  they 
making  not  the  least  resistance. 

The  captain,   to  whose  kindness   I  had 
been  so  much  indebted  for  my  restoration 


105 

to  liberty,  treated  me  with  all  imaginable 
tenderness,  and  gave  me  all  the  information 
that  he  was  able  to  collect,  in  the  course  of 
his  business.  I  officiated  as  his  clerk,  and 
did  all  in  my  power  to  promote  his  interest, 
in  return  for  his  goodness. 

We  took  in  a  cargo  of  wood,  at  Smyrna, 
for  Alexandria,  in  Egypt,  and  sailed  for  that 
port  in  April.  Our  passage  down  the  gulf 
of  Smyrna  and  the  iEgean,  was  favourable 
and  delightful.  We  ran  along  near  the  coast 
of  Scio ;  and,  as  our  vessel  glided  along,  I 
could  not  behold,  without  the  most  poignant 
grief,  the  shores  of  that  island,  recently  so 
populous,  wealthy,  and  flourishing ;  now  en- 
tirely desolated  by  sword  and  flame,  and  the 
bones  of  its  inhabitants  bleaching  on  the 
strand.  Sailing  on,  we  passed  in  sight  of 
the  isles  of  Negarin,  (Icaria,)  Stancho. 
(Coos,)  Scarpanto,  (Carpathus,)  and  Caxo, 
(Casus.)  The  inhabitants  of  the  latter 
island,  had  been,  just  before,  subdued  by 
the  troops  of  Ibrahim,  pasha  of  Egypt,  and 
compelled  to  deliver  up  their  arms,  and  to 
pay  an  annual  tribute. 

We  arrived  off  Alexandria  in  eleven 
days  from  Smyrna.  The  land  around  the 
city,  is  remarkably  low.     By  a  strong  cur- 

f  ent  setting  along  shore  to  the  south,  we 

9# 


106 

were  drifted  a  number  of  leagues  past  our 
port ;  and  it  was  with  much  difficulty  that 
we  were  able  to  get  a  sufficient  distance  to 
windward,  to  enter  the  harbour. 

The  city  of  Alexandria  was  founded  by 
Alexander  the  Great ;  and  from  him  it  de- 
rived its  name.  Before  the  passage  to  In- 
dia, around  the  cape  was  discovered,  it 
was  a  place  of  prodigious  trade.  Upon  a 
little  island  which  made  a  part  of  the  port, 
once  stood  the  famous  lighthouse,  called 
Pharos.  Some  of  the  pillars  of  this  superb 
tower,  may  yet  be  seen  in  a  clear  day,  at 
the  bottom  of  the  water.  The  old  city  has 
long  since  been  abandoned,  and  a  new  one 
has  been  built  of  its  materials,  near  the 
site  of  the  former,  on  a  space  of  ground 
that  seems  to  have  been  forsaken  by  the 
sea.  The  houses  are  of  a  reddish  and  dull 
appearance,  and  some  of  them  are  sur- 
rounded by  courts,  in  which  are  placed  pil- 
lars, obelisks,  &c,  preserved  from  the  ruins 
of  the  old  city.  The  most  remarkable  re- 
mains about  Alexandria,  are  the  cisterns, 
Pompey's  pillar,  and  Cleopatra's  needle. 
The  cisterns  were  built  under  the  houses,, 
supported  by  two  or  three  arches  raised  on 
columns,  in  order  to  receive  the  Nile  water* 
as  they  do  at  present.    The  descent  into 


107 

them  is  by  round  wells,  wherein  are  hok& 
for  the  feet.  By  these,  people  who  are  em- 
ployed to  cleanse  them,  go  down ;  a  care, 
the  neglect  of  which  gives  to  the  water  of 
the  city,  a  bad  taste.  It  is  drawn  up  by  a 
windlass,  and  carried  about  for  use,  on 
camels. 

Pompey's  pillar  stands  on  a  small  height, 
and  is  surrounded  by  some  magnificent 
ruins.  It  is  of  granite ;  the  capitals  are  of 
the  Corinthian  order ;  and  the  leaves,  which 
are  plain,  and  not  in  the  least  indented, 
seem  to  have  been  intended  to  represent 
either  bay  or  laurel.  The  base  of  this  pil- 
lar is  much  mutilated.  The  whole  height 
including  the  pedestal,  capital,  &c,  is  about 
120  feet  in  height,  and  30  feet  round.  The 
shaft  is  about  nine  feet  in  diameter.* 

Cleopatra's  needle,  an  antique  obelisk,  is 
about  two  miles  from  the  pillar  of  Pompey. 
This  obelisk  is  covered  with  Egyptian 
hierogliphics.  It  is  about  seventy  feet  in 
height,  and  about  seven  feet  square  at  the 
base.  Another  of  the  same  dimensions, 
had  fallen  down.  The  bay  of  Alexandria, 
is  very  spacious,  and  presents  a  most  pic- 
turesque and  delightful  view. 

*  By  a  mistake  of  the  writer  or  printer,  this  piUar  yas 
represe.nt.ed  higher  in  the  first  edition, 


108 

The  Egyptian  women  are,  in  general 
very  delicate  in  their  figure,  and  are  cha- 
racterised by  a  certain  elegant  simplicity  of 
dress,  which  we  should  hardly  expect  to 
find  among  a  barbarous  people.  Their 
garments  are  made  of  a  light  blue  stuff; 
and  they  wear  veils  of  the  same  material, 
with  which  they  cover  their  faces,  when 
they  meet  with  any  of  the  other  sex.  The 
higher  and  more  wealthy  class,  wear  a 
light  mask  which  hides  the  lower  part  of 
the  face,  leaving  only  the  eyes  and  fore- 
head to  be  seen.  Their  eyelashes  are 
coloured  with  a  black  dye;  and  the  chin 
and  hands  are  tinged  with  blue.  Their  air 
is  graceful,  and  the  ornaments  which  they 
sometimes  wear,  are  arranged  with  much 
taste  and  effect. 

In  the  market  of  Alexandria,  provisions 
of  all  kinds  are  extremely  cheap.  I  bought 
two  dozen  of  fowls  for  one  dollar ;  a  pair 
of  pigeons  for  six  cents ;  one  hundred  eggs 
for  a  shilling ;  and  beef  of  the  best  quality, 
for  a  cent  a  pound.  Yet,  with  this  advan- 
tage, the  Bedouins  under  the  Turkish  do- 
minion, are  neither  wealthy  nor  even  com- 
fortable. With  profusion  all  around  them, 
they  have  but  little  that  they  can  call  their 
own ;  subjected  as  they  are  to  a  rapacious 


Ift9 

tyranny,  which  only  waits  till  it  sees 
enough  to  excite  its  exercise,  and  then,  like 
a  ravenous  beast,  devours  in  a  moment,  the 
fruits  of  whole  years  of  toil  and  suffering. 
They  are  for  the  most  part,  wretchedly  ig- 
norant, unable  to  write  or  read,  and  with- 
out any  means  or  prospect  of  bettering 
their  condition.  The  day  after  our  arrival, 
our  captain  employed  fifteen  or  twenty  of 
these  miserable  wretches  to  assist  on  board, 
in  unloading  and  arranging  our  cargo, — 
for  which  they  were  paid  a  piastre  each,  a 
day.  A  piastre  is  about  the  fifteenth  of  a 
Spanish  dollar.  These  Bedouins  constitute 
a  considerable  part  of  the  population  of 
Alexandria.  They  are  naked,  filthy,  and 
wretchedly  poor.  They  are  under  the  ab- 
solute dominion  of  the  pasha,  whose  arbi- 
trary rule  admits  of  no  dispute.  In  the 
night,  men,  women  and  children  are  hud- 
dled together,  and  sleep  like  beasts  in  the 
market  place. 

Multitudes  of  these  wretches,  I  was  in- 
formed, are  swept  off  every  year  by  the 
plague ; — and  indeed,  it  is  not  wonderful, 
when  it  is  considered  that  they  generally 
Jive  half  starved ;  are  constantly  covered 
with  dirt,  and  infested  with  vermin.  Their 
superstition  operates  also  in  aid  of  their  de- 
struction.    They  consider  it  as  a  heinous, 


110 

sin  against  God  to  endeavour  to  escape  from 
any  disease  which  he  has  sent.  And  in  ac- 
cordance with  this  article  of  their  faith, 
they  die  in  great  numbers  every  year,  per- 
fectly and  passively  resigned  to  their  fate. 
The  plague  usually  commences  its  ravages 
in  April  or  May,  and  continues  till  the  end 
of  August.  \  Christians  who  are  in  the  city 
during  that  period,  shut  themselves  up  in 
their  houses,  and  refuse  all  communication 
with  the  multitude  without. 

Our  captain  having  finished  his  business 
in  Alexandria,  took  in  a  cargo  for  the  isle 
of  Crete.  This  island  was  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  revolution  taken  by  the 
Greeks,  who,  with  the  exception  of  the  two 
strong  castles  of  Megalo-Castro  and  Canea, 
were  in  possession  of  the  whole  island. 
These  two  citadels  the  Turks  had  occupied 
prior  to  the  revolution,  and  still  maintained 
them.  We  set  sail  for  this  island,  and  in 
sixteen  days  arrived  off  the  harbour  of  Me- 
galo  Castro,  which  lies  on  the  northern  side. 
A  battery  upon  each  point  of  the  harbour, 
defends  its  entrance,  and  the  neighbouring 
castle  commands  both  the  port  and  the  sur- 
rounding country.  We  were  obliged,  from 
the  lowness  of  the  tide*  to  anchor  without 
the  bar  that  obstructs  the  entrance  to  the 
harbour.      While  lying   in  that    exposed 


Ill 

situation,  we  were  struck  by  a  violent 
squall,  which  parted  our  cables.  Fortu- 
nately, however,  we  sustained  no  farther 
injury,  and  the  next  day,  after  discharging 
jktrt  of  our  cargo,  we  entered  the  harbour 
in  safety.  The  island  of  Crete  is  240  miles 
long,  and  from  50  to  60  wide.  The  face  of 
the  country  is  exceedingly  mountainous, 
but  the  climate  is  mild  and  healthy,  the 
soil  is  fertile,  but  in  a  wretched  state  of 
cultivation,  owing  to  the  long  tyranny 
which  the  Turks  have  exercised  over  it. 
It  produces  wine,  oil,  honey,  wax,  saffron, 
&c.  The  population  is  about  250,  or 
300,000;  and  consists  of  Greeks,  Turks, 
and  a  few  Egyptians  and  Jews.  The  cele- 
brated Mount  Ida,  where  Jupiter  is  said  to 
have  been  born,  is  in  the  centre  of  the 
island. 

After  discharging  our  cargo,  we  took  in 
ballast.  I  went  on  shore  in  company  with 
the  captain,  and  to  my  extreme  regret,  saw 
many  of  my  countrymen  in  slavery.  Seve- 
ral were  sold  during  my  stay,  in  the  market, 
like  animals.  One  lady  and  two  small 
children  were  offered  for  sale  to  the  cap- 
tain and  myself,  for  about  fifteen  dollars. 
The  unhappy  slave,  with  the  most  piteous 
lamentations,  besought  us,  by  the  love  of 
God,  to  deliver  her  and  her  infants  from  the 


I-lif 

ruffians,  into  whose  hands  they  had  fallen ) 
and  if  we  could  not  dispose  of  them  other- 
wise, to  throw  them  into  the  sea.  The  cap- 
tain told  her  that  to  afford  them  any  relief 
was  impossible,  as  he  was  obliged  to  visit 
several  Turkish  ports,  and  to  have  her  and 
her  children  on  board  his  vessel,  would  en- 
danger his  own  safety,  and  prove  fatal  to 
them.  The  brutal  wretch  who  offered 
them,  swore  by  Alia,  (God)  that  if  we  did 
not  purchase  them,  he  would  kill  them ;  as 
he  would  not  be  at  the  expense  of  maintain- 
ing them  any  longer. 

I  was  so  much  shocked  at  this  barbarous 
and  revolting  scene  that,  with  a  heart 
almost  bursting  with  grief  and  indignation, 
I  returned  to  the  vessel,  taking  care  not  to 
show  my  face  on  shore  again.  After  fire 
days,  we  sailed  for  Smyrna,  and  arrived 
there  after  a  passage  of  eight  days.  The 
captain  here  contracted  with  a  French  mer- 
chant, named  Sarzan,  to  sail  to  Mytilene, 
(the  ancient  Lesbos)  and  there  take  in  part 
of  a  cargo  of  olive  oil  for  Genoa,  and 
to  proceed  to  the  gulf  of  Adramyttium  for 
the  remainder.  We  took  on  board  casks 
at  Smyrna,  and  sailed  to  Mytilene,  where 
we  lay  but  a  short  time,  and  leaving  that 
port,  completed  our  cargo  at  the  island  of 


113 

Pirgo,  in  the  gulf  of  Adramyttinm.  In  a 
little  excursion  on  the  island,  I  found  the 
ruins  of  a  fortress,  very  ancient  and  of  sin- 
gular  construction.  No  one  was  able  to 
give  any  account  of  it,  and  it  probably  is  as 
old  as  the  Christian  era. 

The. price  of  oil  here  was  about  seven 
dollars  per  barrel.  Our  cargo  being  on 
board,  we  set  sail  for  Genoa,  where  we 
arrived  after  a  very  long  and  boisterous 
passage,  of  forty-six  days.  In  our  progress, 
we  encountered  several  severe  gales  of 
wind,  which  baffled  and  drove  us  from  our 
course  into  the  strait  of  Sicily.  We  passed 
Messenia,  a  large  city  on  the  eastern  side 
of  the  island,  and  came  to  off  Calabria. 
This  city  is  built  down  to  the  water's  edge; 
and  affords  a  charming  prospect  from  the 
bay.  •  Here  we  lay  about  a  week,  and  then 
set  sail  with  a  fair  wind  for  our  port  of  des- 
tination. 

Passing  the  celebrated  strait,  between 
Sylla  and  Charybdis,  we  came  to  the  burn- 
ing mountain  of  Stromboli,  one  of  a  group 
of  volcanic  isles,  lying  north  of  Sicily,  and 
designated  by  the  name  of  Lipari  islands. 
Through  the  day  a  dense  column  of  smoke 
hung  above  it;  and  at  night  it  threw  out 
a*  intervals,  large  volumes  of  fire,  burning 
10 


114 

masses  of  ignited  stone,  and  a  variety  of 
combustible  matter.  We  lay  becalmed, 
about  ten  leagues  to  the  west  of  that  part 
of  the  island,  whence  the  eruption  pro- 
ceeded. I  watched  it  by  night,  with  intense 
attention.  It  was  not  incessant  in  its  dis- 
charges, but  would  remain  quiet  for  some 
time,  suddenly  throw  out  a  column  of 
flame,  which  for  a  time,  lighted  the  scene 
for  many  miles,  and  then  disappear  en- 
tirely. At  the  bottom  of  the  mountain, 
and  beneath  the  very  jaws  of  the  volcano, 
was  a  little  hamlet,  containing  about  fifty 
inhabitants.  The  vine  is  the  principal  ar- 
ticle of  cultivation  in  these  islands.  Leav- 
ing/ this  place,  we  passed  near  the  city  of 
Naples,  famous  for  its  beautiful  bay.  We 
saw  mount  Vesuvius,  which  rises  behind  the 
city.  It  was  not  in  a  state  of  eruption, 
but  a  thick  cloud  of  smoke  hung  around  it 
We  came  by  night,  near  a  small  island, 
named  Ponizza.  Here,  we  encountered  a 
sudden  gale  from  the  northwest,  which  blew 
away  some  of  our  sails,  and  otherwise  in- 
jured our  vessel;  on  which  account,  we 
were  forced  to  put  back  into  the  harbour 
of  Gayetta.  Repairing  our  injuries  here, 
we  sailed  in  a  day  or  two  for  Genoa.  Ar- 
riving in  that  place,  we  were  ordered  into 


115 

quarantine,  where  we  lay  thirty-five  days, 
and  were  then  permitted  to  come  up  to  the 
city.  The  captain  took  me  into  a  house 
which  he  had  hired,  and  boarded  me  for 
several  months.  I  had  written  a  number 
of  letters,  in  the  hope  of  hearing  from 
some  one  of  my  family,  to  every  place 
where  we  had  any  friends  or  acquain- 
tances;— but  received  no  answer  to  any  of 
them.  The  general  disturbances  and  com- 
motions in  Greece,  had  destroyed  all  the 
usual  means  of  communication  ;  broken  up 
all  the  channels  of  information  ;  and  inter- 
posed between  me  and  the  realization  of 
my  hopes  of  being  able  to  learn  the  fate  of 
my  unfortunate  family,  an  almost  insur- 
mountable bar. 

While  I  resided  at  Genoa,  I  was  advised 
by  several  persons  with  whom  I  was  fortu- 
nate enough  to  form  an  acquaintance,  to 
endeavour  to  get  to  Gibraltar,  from  which 
port  a  constant  communication  was  carried 
on  by  means  of  British  packets,  with  Malta 
and  Corfu.  My  friends  in  Genoa  kindly 
furnished  me  with  several  letters  to  different 
persons  at  Gibraltar ;  and  with  much  regret 
at  leaving  the  good  captain  who  had  done 
so  much  for  me,  1  sailed  from  Genoa,  and 
in  mine  days  reached  Gibraltar.     I  imme 


116 

diately  delivered  my  letters  of  introduction, 
and  was  kindly  and  courteously  received. 
These  letters  put  me  on  a  respectable  foot- 
ing in  that  place ;  and  I  wrote  without  de- 
lay, to  several  friends  in  different  parts  of 
Greece,  begging  them,  if  they  were  able, 
to  communicate  some  account  of  the  fate 
of  my  family.  I  waited  four  months  and 
a  half  at  Gibraltar,  in  daily  hopes  of  re- 
ceiving intelligence  from  my  friends — but 
was  disappointed.  Every  day  brought  in 
additional  accounts  of  the  calamities  heaped 
upon  my  unfortunate  country ;  and  amidst 
such  violent  commotions  as  she  was  com- 
pelled to  undergo,  extending  as  they  did  to 
every  corner  of  Greece,  I  had  every  thing  to 
fear  for  my  family  and  friends.  I  became 
almost  vexed  with  life.  Successive  disap- 
pointments had  broken  my  spirit,  and  my  life 
to  me  was  but  weariness  and  trouble.  There 
was  no  point  of  my  country,  to  which  I  could 
safely  return.  All  the  places  we  could 
hear  from,  were  in  possession  of  the  Turks. 
All  business  was  suspended ;  all  Greek  pro- 
perty confiscated,  or  destroyed ;  all  commu- 
nication broken  off,  except  for  the  army  and 
military  despatches.  I  could  not  turn  my 
eye  to  any  part  of  my  ill-fated  country  with 
the  hope  of  meeting  friend  or  relative  alive 


117 

to  receive  me.  In  vain  were  all  the  letters 
I  had  written.  I  had  no  security  for  their 
conveyance  to  the  place  of  their  destination; 
no  assurance  that  they  had  not  fallen  into 
the  hands  of  the  Turks,  and  been  destroyed; 
with  every  thing  else  that  could  not  be 
turned  to  their  own  interest.  In  this  situa- 
tion, under  the  doubts,  the  purposeless  wan- 
dering of  my  hopes,  I  could  not  determine 
on  any  thing  with  regard  to  my  own  country : 
and  willingly  listened  to  a  proposition  "of 
some  of  my  friends  to  visit  America.  This 
happy  country  was  described  to  me  in  the 
warmest  terms,  and  most  glowing  colours. 
It  was  represented  as  the  sanctuary  of  li- 
berty, in  which  she  found  an  abode  when 
driven  from  every  other  quarter  of  the  globe. 
The  security  of  its  laws,  the  humanity  and 
moral  beauty  of  its  customs,  the  hospitality, 
elevation,  and  prosperity  of  its  people,  were 
enlarged  upon,  and  without  a  home  to  re- 
ceive me  in  my  own  country,  I  made  my 
determination  to  seek  an  asylum  here. 

The  brig  Abeona,  Captain  Fairchild,  was 
then  at  Gibraltar,  and  about  to  sail  for  New 
York.  In  her  1  took  passage,  and,  after  a 
voyage  of  forty-four  days,  I  arrived  in  that 
large  and  flourishing  city.  It  was  more 
than  a  month,  before  I  found  a  single  indi- 
10* 


118 

vidua!  to  whom  I  had  letters ;  as  I  was  to- 
tally ignorant  of  the  English  language. 
During  a  part  of  this  time,  I  was  kindly 
and  courteously  entertained  by  Captain 
Fairehild,  on  board  his  vessel. 

At  length,  I  became  acquainted  with  L. 
Bradish,  Esq.,  who  rendered  me  great  ser- 
vice, especially  as  an  interpreter,  and  kindly 
introduced  me  to  the  Greek  Committee  of 
that  place;  which  association  had  been 
formed  for  the  benevolent  and  godlike  ob- 
ject of  relieving  the  sufferings,  and  aiding 
the  exertions  of  my  unhappy  countrymen. 
Anxious  to  return  again  to  my  country,  in 
order  to  ascertain  the  situation  of  my  un- 
fortunate family,  I  applied  to  the  Greek 
Committee,  and  stated  to  them  my  desire. 
They  advised  me  to  return,  and  procured 
me  a  passage  in  the  ship  Six  Brothers,  which 
was  about  to  sail  with  a  cargo  of  provisions, 
sent  as  a  gratuity  by  the  liberal  citizens  of 
New  York,  to  the  famishing  and  perishing 
Greeks,  at  Napoli  di  Romania.  She  was  to 
stop  at  Malta,  pursuant  to  the  advice  of  the 
Committee.  I  embarked  for  that  place,  on 
the  13th  of  May,  1827.  On  our  arrival 
there,  the  vessel  was  ordered  into  quaran- 
tine. The  captain  went  into  the  lazaretto, 
and  I  accompanied  him.     I  was  introduced 


119 

to  John  Pulis,  Esq.,  the  American  consul, 
and  to  the  Rev.  Daniel  Temple,  then  in  that 
island.  A  Greek  merchant,  named  Anas- 
tasi  Pagoni,  hearing  of  me  by  these 
gentlemen,  called  on  me  at  the  lazaretto, 
and  brought  me  a  letter  in  answer  to  one  I 
had  written  from  Gibraltar  to  a  friend  at 
Previsa.  This  letter  gave  me  the  dreadful 
intelligence  of  the  massacre  of  my  father, 
at  Missolonghi,  together  with  the  capture  of 
his  family,  at  the  time  of  its  fall.  That 
event,  so  bloody  and  disastrous,  both  to  me 
and  to  my  country,  took  place  on  the  22d 
of  February,  1825.  The  letter  went  on  to 
inform  me,  that  my  mother,  and  my  two 
younger  brothers  and  sisters,  were  made 
prisoners  by  the  Albanians,  and  dragged 
away  into  slavery ;  that  my  eldest  brother 
and  sister,  Spiro  and  Maria,  had  been,  early 
in  the  revolution,  lost  by  some  mischance, 
and  had  never  been  heard  of  since;  that 
Ifhe  hopes  of  the  most  sanguine  patriots,  for 
the  salvation  of  their  country,  began  to  fail ; 
that  ruin,  desolation,  and  misery,  overspread 
the  country ;  and  concluded,  by  exhorting 
me  to  bear  up  with  courage  and  fortitude, 
under  this  complication  of  afflictions. 

This  exhortation  was,  however,  ineffec- 
tual   The  gloomy  intelligence  quite  over 


120 

whelmed  me.  My  soul  was  sunken  and 
prostrated ;  and  death  would  have  been  a 
relief  to  me ;  for  life  presented  nothing  but 
a  blank  and  dreary  desert  before  me,  on 
which  I  could  discover  no  green  nor  sunny 
spot.  Cut  off  from  the  society  of  my  family, 
and  friends  ;  doubtful  as  to  their  existence ; 
and,  if  they  existed,  knowing  that  it  was  in 
a  slavery  more  horrible  than  death ;  without 
a  country  or  a  home;  dependant  on  the 
charities  of  strangers,  and  hopeless  of  a 
change  in  my  fortunes,  I  sunk  down  into  a 
state  of  sullen  despondency.  The  captain 
of  the  Six-Brothers,  Mr.  John  Stuyvesanf. 
and  other  friends,  whom  I  had  found  in  my 
wanderings,  endeavoured  to  console  me,  but 
there  is  a  measure  of  grief,  which  even  the 
voice  of  kindness  and  friendship  cannot  as- 
suage. 

Not  knowing  what  to  do,  and  reckless  of 
my  fate,  I  was  about  to  take  passage  from 
Malta  to  Corfu,  with  the  forlorn  hope  of 
gaining  some  further  intelligence  of  my 
unhappy  family,  and  of  obtaining  means 
among  our  former  friends  for  their  ransom : 
when  two  of  my  countrymen  came  to  see 
me  at  the  lazaretto,  and  advised  me  to 
abandon  the  design  of  going  to  Corfu,  but 
to  proceed  in  the  ship  Six  Brothers  to  Na- 


121 

poll  di  Romania;  whither  her  cargo  had 
been  directed.  In  this  advice  the  captain 
concurred,  together  with  Mr.  Stuyvesant, 
the  supercargo,  and  the  other  American 
gentlemen  on  board.  I  determined  on  doing 
so — went  again  on  board  the  Six  Brothers, 
and  we  immediately  sailed  for  that  place. 
On  arriving  there,  we  found  it  in  a  most 
deplorable  situation.  Thousands  of  people, 
driven  as  exiles  from  other  parts  of  Greece, 
were  assembled  here;  stripped  of  every 
thing,  without  habitation,  clothing,  or  food. 
Hundreds  and  hundreds  of  poor  emaciated 
creatures,  in  the  last  stages  of  fever  and 
starvation,  were  lying  about  in  the  fields, 
with  but  the  remnant  of  a  garment  to  hide 
their  nakedness,  and  no  covering  but  the 
canopy  of  heaven.  I  never  beheld  so  shock- 
ing a  picture  of  agonizing  misery,  as  that 
city  at  that  time  exhibited.  Hundreds  of 
the  unhappy  exiles  had  perished  with  famine 
and  disease,  and  hundreds  more  were  dying 
all  around  us.  The  recollection  of  such  a 
spectacle  of  suffering  humanity,  even  now 
makes  me  shudder,  and  my  blood  almost 
congeal.  Oh  my  God  !  what  have  not  my 
countrymen  suffered  in  this  dreadful  strug- 
gle for  their  liberty  and  religion! 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


The  arrival  of  the  ship  with  supplies  to 
the  famished  people  at  JVapoli,  was  hailed 
with  transports  of  gratitude  and  joy.  The 
richest  blessings  of  heaven  were  invoked  on 
the  Americans  for  their  signal  benevolence. 
The  voices  of  old  and  young  were  engaged 
in  expressions  of  fervent  and  grateful  ac- 
knowledgment of  American  philanthropy : 
and  the  faint  voices  of  the  sick,  and  even 
the  dying,  were  not  silent  amidst  the  gene- 
ral joy.  Col.  Miller,  Col.  Jarvis,  and  Dr. 
Howe,  the  three  distinguished  Americans 
who  have  done  so  much  for  the  Greek  cause 
and  the  Greek  nation,  were  the  distributors 
of  the  provisions  and  clothing  among  the 
people.  I  was  introduced  to  them ;  and 
they  with  one  accord  counselled  me  to  re- 
turn to  America. 

On  looking  around  me,  I  found  the  cir- 
cumstances of  my  country,  and  of  myself, 
such,  as  to  incline  me  to  their  advice.  In 
the  existing  state  of  Greece,  overrun  by  the 
relentless  enemy;    desolated  by  the  scymi- 


123 

tar;  and  devastated  by  pillage  and  fire;  the 
remnant  of  her  unhappy  people,  who  had 
escaped  massacre  and  captivity,  driven 
from  the  pursuits  of  industry  into  exile,  and 
perishing  with  famine,  nakedness*  and  dis- 
ease :  in  such  a  state  of  things,  I  could  ren- 
der no  service  to  my  country  by  remaining, 
and  I  despaired  of  being  able  to  learn  any 
thing  more  of  my  unfortunate  family ;  to 
procure  the  means  of  their  deliverance,  or 
evenof  my  owrn  subsistence. 

These  reasons,  concurring  with  the  ad- 
vice of  my  American  friends,  I  once  more 
left  my  native  land,  to  seek  an  asylum  else- 
where. I  felt  myself  a  solitary  wanderer 
on  the  earth,  and  I  cared  very  little  where 
I  dragged  out  the  residue  of  my  wretched 
existence.  My  heart  was  withered ;  my 
soul,  desolate.  The  fate  of  my  mother, 
brothers,  sisters,  in  slavery — in  torture,  was 
ever  present  to  my  thoughts,  and  filled  my 
soul  with  the  most  agonizing  distress. 

Distracted  by  such  reflections,  I  proceed- 
ed in  the  Six-Brothers,  to  the  isle  of  Poros ; 
whence,  after  a  stay  of  nine  days,  we  took 
our  departure  for  Marseilles,  a  large  com- 
mercial city  in  the  south  of  France. 

The  Six-Brothers,  being  bound  to  Monte 
Video,   Captain  Lee  procured  for  me   a 


124 

passage  to  Boston,  in  an  American  brig, 
called  the  Byron,  (a  name  consecrated 
to  liberty  and  to  genius,)  commanded  by 
Captain  Moore,  who  kindly  gave  me  my 
passage  thither.  I  had  letters  to  the  Greek 
Committee  in  that  city,  whither,  after  a 
long  and  boisterous  passage  of  73  days,  we 
arrived  in  safety.  On  treading  the  soil,  and 
breathing  the  air  of  freedom,  I  felt  my  soul 
revive  again:  but  the  emotions  of  joy  I 
felt,  were  allayed  with  those  of  sorrow  for 
my  own  dear  land,  when  I  contrasted  her 
calamities  and  degradation,  with  the  liber- 
ty, peace  and  happiness  of  this  heaven-pro- 
tected country. 

I  was  received  in  Boston  with  the  great- 
est kindness  by  the  Greek  Committee,  and 
was  hospitably  entertained  by  many  other 
gentlemen.  In  the  family  of  the  father  of 
Dr.  Howe,  I  received  attentions  and  cour- 
tesies which  I  shall  ever  remember.  I  re- 
sided in  his  house  for  some  time  previous  to 
my  departure *from  Boston  to  New  York. 

At  New  York,  I  was  solicitous  to  engage 
in  some  occupation  that  might  afford  me  an 
independent  livelihood,  till  circumstances 
might  prove  more  auspicious  to  the  accom- 
plishment of  my  object — that  of  procuring 
means  for  the  deliverance  of  my  suffering 


125 

family*  I  at  length,  obtained  employment 
in  the  drug  store  of  Messrs.  O.  &,  W.  Hull, 
who  have  always  shown  me  the  greatest 
kindness,  and,  for  which,  I  shall  always  feel 
grateful.  In  this  situation,  I  remained  al- 
most a  year,  surrounded  by  difficulties,  and 
heart-stricken  by  my  own  misfortunes,  and 
those  of  my  family  ;  I  lived  sullenly  on,  du- 
ring this  period;  in  despair  of  ever  emerging 
from  the  obscurity  by  which  I  was  shrouded, 
to  a  situation  wherein  I  could,  with  advan- 
tage, exert  myself  to  compass  the  object  of 
my  desire. 

Receiving  an  invitation  to  visit  South 
Carolina,  I  embarked  for  Charleston,  in 
hopes  of  obtaining  some  situation  wherein 
my  exertions  could  be  turned  to  more  ac- 
count ;  and  the  means  of  accomplishing  my 
object  more  speedily  acquired. 

On  my  arrival,  I  found  that  the  duties  of 
a  place  which  I  had  designed  to  occupy,  and 
which  had  been  procured  for  me  by  the 
kindness  of  a  friend,  were  of  such  a  nature 
as  to  render  its  acceptance  incompatible 
with  my  feelings.  I  had  letters  of  intro- 
duction to  a  few  gentlemen  in  Charleston, 
who,  in  the  kindness  and  courtesy  with 
which  they  received  me,  nobly  sustained  the 
reputation  for  generosity  of  feeling,  and  li- 
11 


126 

berality  in  conferring  benefits,  which  ha£ 
always  been  a  characteristic  of  the  citizens 
of  that  respectable  city.  I  could  long  dwell 
with  emotions  of  gratitude  and  pleasure,  on 
the  multiplied  acts  and  manifestations  of 
philanthropy  and  disinterested  benevolence, 
which  were  heaped  on  me  by  many  in  that 
place ;  but,  time  would  fail  me  to  mention  all 
the  names  of  those  to  whom  I  am  under  ob- 
ligations I  never  can  repay.  I  should,  how- 
ever,  do  violence  to  my  feelings,  were  I  to 
omit  to  mention,  the  peculiar  debt  of  grati- 
tude I  owe  to  John  S.  Richardson,  Esq.,  to 
whom  I  was  introduced,  and  by  whom,  after 
hearing  my  story,  I  was  first  advised  to  pub- 
lish it  to  the  world,  as  the  most  feasible,  if 
not  the  only  mode  of  effecting  the  delive- 
rance of  my  wretched  family. 

Confiding  much  in  the  intelligent  judg- 
ment of  Mr.  Richardson,  and  relying  on  the 
liberality  of  my  friends  to  assist  and  sup- 
port my  undertaking,  I  resolved  on  the  pub- 
lication of  my  narrative.  In  visiting  Sa- 
vannah, to  obtain  subscriptions  for  the  work. 
I  received  much  courtesy  and  attention 
from  Rev.  Messrs.  Bakertmd  Weir,  C.  W. 
Rockwell,  and  G.  W.  Coe,  esquires,  who 
will  pardon  me  for  seizing  this  occasion  to 
express  my  gratitude  for  their  hospitality 


127 

and  courteous  kindness.  In  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  and  Albany,  which  cities  I 
have  since  visited,  I  have  received  much 
encouragement  in  the  prosecution  of  my 
little  work. 

It  is  now  finished ;  and  it  is  hoped,  that 
the  object,  for  which  it  was  undertaken, 
and  is  now  offered  to  the  public,  is  of  such 
a  nature  as  will  commend  itself  to  a  liberal 
and  Christian  community.  It  is  a  well- 
known  characteristic  of  the  American  peo- 
ple, that  when  a  worthy  object  of  benevo- 
lence is  presented  to  their  observation,  that 
noble  sympathy  which  adorns  and  dignifies 
our  nature,  comes  spontaneously  forth,  and 
impels  the  hand  to  do  what  the  heart  dic- 
tates. 

The  emancipation  of  a  family  from  the 
miseries  of  slavery, — a  slavery  of  whose 
horrors  I  can  speak  from  bitter  experience, 
is  an  enterprise  which  such  a  people,  I  con- 
fidently trust,  will  not  refuse  to  aid. 

The  voice  of  my  suffering  country,  has 
never  yet  appealed  in  vain  to  Americans. 
In  the  extremity  of  her  calamities,  when 
"  clouds  and  thick  darkness"  hung  over  the 
issue  of  her  sunken  and  almost  desperate 
struggle  for  the  recovery  of  her  long  lost 
rights ;  when  the  banded  powers  of  Europe 


128 

were  lowering  on  her  people  with  an  as- 
pect menacing  destruction, — it  was  among 
Americans  that  she  found  firm  and  faithful 
friends,  whose  voices  kindly  cheered  her 
onward  in  her  glorious  labour ;  and  whose 
hands  were  stretched  forth  to  relieve  her 

distress. O,    when    my   country    shall 

again  assume  her  rank  among  the  nations 
of  the  earth ;  when  her  ancient  glory  shall 
shine  again  with  brighter  splendour  from 
its  long  obscurity ;  when  her  suffering  peor 
pie  shall,  like  Americans,  be  free  and 
happy — how  grateful  to  American  hearts 
will  be  the  reflection,  that  they  have  largely 
contributed  to  her  moral  and  political  re- 
generation ! 

The  occasion  on  which  American  benevo- 
lence is  now  addressed,  is  of  less  compara- 
tive importance,  than  that  of  the  salvation 
of  a  whole  country;— but  it  is  one,  on 
which  the  feeling  heart  will  not  withhold 
its  sympathy.  It  is  the  cry  of  the  suffer- 
ing and  helpless  slave,  that  calls  for  deli- 
verance from  a  bondage  worse  than  death. 
It  is  the  voice  of  a  son  and  brother  on 
their  behalf,  that  now  asks  that  benefi- 
cence, which  in  a  reverse  of  circumstan- 
ces, his  hand  would  freely  bestow. 


C0JTCL.USI01N* 


As  this  is  the  only  edition  of  my  Narrative  I  expect  to 
publish  in  this  country,  I  take  the  opportunity  of  ex- 
pressing my  deep  sense  of  the  great  kindness  and  friendly 
hospitality  with  which  I  have  been  treated  in  the  several 
places  I  have  visited  while  in  this  country 

Benevolence  and  sympathy  have  not  smiled  for  me 
in  merely  single  instances  ;  but  one  impulse  of  kindness 
seemed  to  warm  the  breast  of  all  to  whom  my  unhappy 
story  was  communicated,  and  inclined  every  one  to  miti- 
gate the  afflictions  which  I  suffered. 

I  came  to  this  country  bereaved  of  all  my  family  rela- 
tions, a  mere  stranger,  almost  unknown  ;  having  escaped 
from  captivity  only  with  life.  I  have  found  friends  to 
receive  me  with  kindness,  and  glowing  with  a  desire  to 
assist  me  in  that  object  which  I  pursue  before  all  others, 
the  design  of  redeeming  from  captivity  my  mother,  sisters,, 
and  brothers,  who  still  suffer  the  trials  from  which  1 
have  been  delivered.  The  distresses  that  I  had  expe- 
rienced, made  many  regard  me  as  a  brother ;  and  like  a 
brother  have  they  ever  treated  me. 

To  the  ladies  who  have  so  kindly  interested  themselves 
to  obtain  subscriptions  for  my  work,  my  most  sincere  and 
respectful  thanks  are  due.  Their  own  pure  and  gene- 
rous feelings  are  their  best  reward  ;  but  the  stranger's 
gratitude  will  fill  his  heart  as  long  as  life  remains  ;  and 
when  in  lands  far  distant,  will  raise  it  in  prayers  for  their 
welfare  and  happiness. 

But  from  persons  of  all  classes  I  have  received  ex- 
pressions and  acts  of  kindness.     All,  all  have  sympathized 


130 

with  the  oppressed  captive,  soothed  his  moments  of 
despondency,  and  cheered  his  hopes  of  future  peace. 
To  all,  therefore,  does  he  present  his  farewell  acknow- 
ledgments, and  he  will  bear  with  him  a  lasting  remem- 
brance of  their  unabated  kindness. 

Those  from  whom  I  have  received  testimonies  of 
kindness  are  so  numerous,  that  I  am  unable  to  offer  them, 
at  parting,  my  grateful  expressions.  But  I  cannot  deny 
myself  the  pleasure  of  expressing,  however  inadequately, 
my  sense  of  the  obligations  which  I  feel  towards  several 
gentlemen  of  the  Greek  Committee,  and  to  Rev.  Dr. 
Wainwright,  Rev.  Mr  Bruen,  R.  Sedgwick,  Esq.,  and 
J.  F.  Phillips,  Esq.,  of  New  York  ;  as  well  as  towards  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Ely,  Alexander  Henry,  J.  K.  Kane,  and  J.  P. 
Morris,  Esqs.,  of  Philadelphia  ;  and  to  Rev.  Dr.  Lacey, 
and  Mr.  Hopkins,  of  Albany. 


The  following  extracts  which  I  take  the  liberty  of  in- 
serting— from  a  letter  of  Rev.  Jonas  King,  now  Mis- 
sionary in  Greece,  will  show  the  desire  that  exists  in 
that  country  for  religious  instruction. 

Mgina,  August,  1828. 

"  To  the  Ladies'  Greek  Committee,  New  York. 

n  When  I  arose  in  the  morning,  I  found  many  persons 
standing  at  my  door,  wishing  for  New  Testaments.  Af- 
ter breakfast,  several  persons  came  in  with  a  priest, — and 
on  my  asking  what  they  wished  :  the  reply  from  all, 
was — books,  books — the  Gospel,  the  Gospel.  To  satisfy 
myself  of  the  truth  of  their  assertion,  that  they  were 
able  to  read,  1  made  them  stand  up  in  a  row,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  hear  them  read  from  the  Gospel,  one  after  an- 
other, and  made  remarks  to  them  upon  the  truth  which 
it  contains.  While  thus  occupied,  eight  or  ten  boys,  from 
ten  to  eighteen  years  of  age,  came  in  and  announced  to 
me  that  their  teacher  was  below,  and  wished  to  see  me. 
I  of  course,  invited  him  to  come  in.  On  his  entering,  all 
his  scholars  took  their  stand  together  in  order ;  and 
these,  together  with  those  who  had  previously  entered, 
formed  an  interesting  groupe  of  thirty  or  forty  boys  of 
the  ages  above  mentioned. 

"  The  teacher,  Nicephoros  Pamboukes,  told  me  that  he 
was  a  native  of  Argos,  the  place  of  Agamemnon  ;  that  he 
was  employed  here  by  the  president,  Capo  d'  Istria,  as 
teacher  of  the  ancient  Greek,  and  that  he  had  in  his 
school  about  eighty  scholars. 

"  After  he  had  taken  his  seat,  &c.  he  addressed  me  as 
follows :  How  much  labour  you  have  taken  to  come 
from  America,  five  or  six  thousand  miles,  to  bring  us 
aid  !  We  are  indeed  in  affliction.  Pass  over  into  the 
Morea,  and  you  will  find  our  cities  laid  waste  ;  many  of 
the  people  without  homes,  without  food,  or  raiment. 
Truly  your  reward  will  be  great  from  Him  who  rewards 
those  who  give  only  a  cup  of  cold  water  in  the  name  of 
a  disciple.  But  we  are  unworthy.  With  regard  to  our 
religion  we  are  fallen  from  the  elevation  where  we  once 


132 

were.  We  have  borne  long  the  Turkish  yoke  ;  have  be 
come  ignorant ;  have  not  the  Gospel ;  and  war  hat 
introduced  many  evils.  I  have  come  this  morning  with 
part  of  my  pupils,  to  express  our  gratitude  for  your  great 
benevolence  ;  but  especially  we  wish  to  thank  you  for 
bringing  us  the  Gospel. 

**  After  these  went  away,  others  came  and  begged  for 
the  Gospel.  If  Christians  in  America  could  have  wit- 
nessed the  scene,  youths  and  old  men  pleading  with  me 
for  a  Bible,  I  am  sure  there  would  be  no  want  of  money 
to  print  it  in  sufficient  numbers  to  supply  all  Greece.  1 
suppose  there  have  been  at  my  room  to  day  begging  for 
this  inestimable  treasure  more  than  a  hundred  persons. 
Among  them  was  a  priest,  who  came  with  his  son  to  beg 
a  New  Testament.  Several  old  men,  whose  heads  were 
white  with  age,  came  and  made  the  same  request,  &c. 

"  7th  Aug.  Visited  the  Lancastrian  School  taught  by 
Petros  Bonas.  Here  are  eighty-six  boys  between  the 
ages  of  nine  and  seventeen.  They  were  taken  by  the 
President,  from  the  army  which  they  followed,  and  from 
the  midst  of  filth,  vermin  and  wretchedness.  I  have 
seldom  visited  a  school  more  orderly  and  decent." 

It  appears  from  these  few  extracts,  that  among  my 
countrymen,  all  classes,  old  and  young — priests  and  peo- 
ple are  thirsting  for  knowledge,  and  panting  for  instruc- 
tion. Schools  could  be  established  in  Greece,  to  any 
extent,  if  the  means  were  supplied.  And  small  sums 
will,  in  that  country,  go  far  to  produce  important  re- 
sults. Shall  I  not  be  excused  then  if  I  entreat  all 
who  can,  to  aid  in  extending  the  blessings  of  know- 
ledge and  truth  to  that  destitute  and  suffering  land. 
I  have  visited  several  Sabbath  Schools  in  this  coun- 
try, and  have  often  wished  that  similar  institutions  ex- 
isted in  my  own.  The  blessings  which  would  arise 
from  their  establishment  there  among  the  rising  genera- 
tion are  incalculable. 

J.  STEPITANINL 


